If You're Fond of Sand Dunes and Salty Air
by OldFashionedGrl
Summary: Usually Richard and Emily Gilmore spend their summers at the Cape. Why is this summer different? What will happen when a spontanious invitation is given and accepted? Features Richard, Emily, Lorelai and Luke and is set the August after 'Bon Voyage.'
1. Dinner for Five

**Chapter 1**

**Dinner for Five**

Emily made a last pass through the dining room triple checking that everything was perfectly in order. She adjusted the centerpiece a fraction of an inch closer to Richard's end of the table and stepped back to make sure it was indeed in the center this time. Lorelai had been coming on her own to Friday night dinner for several weeks. She had even brought Luke a few times and things had gone well. The conversation was a bit stilted perhaps but so far there hadn't been any drama. Tonight the table was set for five because Luke's daughter April was visiting. Since all signs pointed to Luke and Lorelai marrying someday, even if they hadn't made it official yet, that meant Luke and April would be family too. Emily was determined that she would not give herself or her daughter any excuse to break apart the fragile bond that had taken so many years to form, not again.

With one last glance at the table, she briskly strode into the living room. Finding it empty, she turned on her heel and called out as she approached the bottom of the stairs, "Richard, please, they'll be here any minute."

Her husband appeared jogging jauntily down the stairs and answered as he put the finishing touches on his steel grey and blue bow tie, "I'm here. No need to shout."

Emily's hands quickly replaced his as she straightened the tie and smiled up at him. After fixing the tie she refolded his matching pocket handkerchief and began brushing at the lapels of his grey suit jacket.

He reached up and stilled her hands. "Emily, stop fussing. Everything will be fine," he reassured her looking down into her eyes and holding her hands to his chest. "You look lovely, by the way," he added with a satisfied grin as she looked down and away from him at the unexpected compliment. "I don't tell you that often enough. An oversight I am determined to rectify."

"Oh, Richard," she replied glancing back up at him. Clearly she had meant to admonish him but she was too moved by his words to carry off the right tone of voice. Instead it came out much softer than she had intended.

Their guests arrived moments later and were ushered into the living room where drinks had gone smoothly the adults taking a much appreciated back seat in the conversation to April's animated description of six weeks at science camp. The topic carried them happily through the salad course as she described physics classes and chemistry experiments led by Nobel Laureates. Richard alone kept pace with her asking relevant questions while Lorelai, Emily, and Luke were reduced to nodding and murmuring suitably impressed responses.

The maid appeared with the main course and Richard said "Well, this camp will certainly be a feather in your cap when applying to colleges, April. Are you considering any in particular? I'm a Yale man myself. No finer education in the world."

"Isn't it a bit early for that? She's only in junior high?" Luke questioned, his fork frozen halfway to his mouth.

"Actually, Dad," April chimed in, "I've been planning for college for years. All the course work I take now will lead directly into the honors classes I want to take in high school that will hopefully get me into a decent college." She turned back to Richard. "Yes, Mr. Gilmore, I do have Yale on my short list, along with Harvard, Princeton, and Stanford. Thought I'd keep the California option open."

Lorelai smiled at the deer in the headlights look on Luke's face and patted his arm gently. "Don't worry. You'll survive. Four years and counting to Senior Year, that's when the fun really starts."

Luke slowly lowered his fork to his plate and reached for his wine glass. "Thanks… a lot."

Lorelai patted his arm again then looked to her mother in an effort to change to subject. "So, no plans for a vacation this year?" she asked. "Don't you always go to Cape Cod for the summer?"

Emily paused to formulate an answer when her husband saved her the need. "As a matter of fact we have spent some time at the Cape."

Lorelai's head snapped in her father's direction. "You've been here for dinner every Friday all summer. What do you do, weekend in Hartford? Isn't that a little backward?"

Emily answered eyes on her plate as she cut her roast beef, "We come back to Hartford for a few days each week so your father can keep tabs on his business."

Sensing that there was more her mother wasn't saying, Lorelai instead turned her attention back to her father. "Really, Dad? Things busier than usual this year?"

Richard glanced up and from across the table. His wife was giving him a look that clearly said answer carefully. "Off and on," he replied with easy nonchalance. The last thing Emily would want their daughter to know was that they had been coming back each week mainly for these dinners.

Lorelai looked back to her mother, not giving up. "Well it's too bad you can't really relax and enjoy the summer."

"I've been enjoying my summer very much, haven't you Richard?" she answered making a clear effort to sound cheerful.

Richard knew that much was riding on his answer. "I have indeed, but perhaps the three of you would like to come out and join us next weekend. I think I could safely stay away from the office for a week."

April quickly latched onto the idea. "Oh, Dad, can we? I've never stayed in Cape Cod, have you?"

Other reactions around the table were less enthusiastic. Emily was stunned, but covered rather well by continuing to concentrate on her dinner. Luke gazed open mouthed at his daughter's reply and Lorelai had been caught chewing and sat silently trying to swallow the lump of carrot that had gotten lodged in her throat.

April gazed at her father waiting for an answer.

"No, but …" Luke looked from Richard to Emily to Lorelai seeking help in any corner. Finding none, he finally addressed Richard, "I … we… wouldn't want to impose."

Emily recovered quickly, her ingrained manners kicking in full force. "Don't be silly. We have guest rooms and I've just had the house we bought last year completely redone. We'd love to have you."

Lorelai reached for her water glass, still trying to keep from choking, her eyes threatening to water.

"It's really a terrific house, and it has quite a good size swimming pool. I seem to recall hearing that you're on a swim team, aren't you April?" Richard asked, clearly enjoying his spur of the moment idea.

"Please, Dad," April appealed, her eyes big and shiny. "It would be great to get some training in before I go back home and I really love the beach."

Luke unable to think of a way out acquiesced reluctantly. "I guess I could put Cesar in charge for a few days."

Emily's gaze was drawn to her daughter as she coughed silently and brought her napkin to her mouth. "Lorelai, are you okay?"

Lorelai's coughs began to sound like coughs. Luke turned and patted her on the back. Finally she got enough air into her lungs to reply. "Yeah… fine," she nodded and dabbed at the tears in the corner of her eyes. "Carrot went down the wrong way."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Richard asked with concern.

Lorelai nodded as she took a tentative sip of water, then she placed the glass down on the table. "Death by carrot, boy that would look bad in the obituary."

"Lorelai, that is not something you joke about," Emily chastised. "Just last month a member of the DAR lost her second cousin to a choking accident."

"That wasn't the same at all," Richard corrected. "The man was over eighty and had already had two strokes." He looked to Luke and Lorelai excitedly, "Do you think you think you both could get away from work for a day or so? It really is a shame to drive all that way for only a day. You should come out on Thursday afternoon and stay through Sunday."

Lorelai looked at Luke. She hoped he would have some sort of objection, but he just shrugged and nodded. She couldn't think of a good reason not to go and she didn't want to offer a lame excuse that her mother would certainly see though. They'd reached a sort of undeclared peace these last couple of months and not stressing every time she heard from her mother was nice. No reason to start something now. "Uh… I guess so... yeah. I'll have to let Sookie and Michel know, but it should be okay."

"Well, that's settled then," Richard declared as he put down his knife and fork and the maid began clearing the dinner dishes from the table.

"Cool," April added with a big smile.

* * *

**Notes: **Very special thanks to **UnaVitaSegreta** and **Melanie** for their tireless encouragement, feedback, suggestions, ideas and overall wonderfulness during the creation of this story. I'm sure they're both quite sick of all things Cape Cod related at this point, but this story would not be without them. Thanks to **Melanie** for her beta/proof reading skills as well. Any remaining mistakes are all my own doing. A big thank yo to **Cira** too, for your encouragement and feedback. I wish our time zones were more in synch so we could chat more often. 


	2. Sand in My Shoes

**Chapter 2**

**Sand in My Shoes**

As Luke steered Lorelai's jeep onto the long private road that, according to the directions, lead to the Gilmore's beach house he muttered under his breath, "How did we get into this again?"

Lorelai stole a quick glance into the back seat. April's nose was buried in the same book she'd been reading for the entire drive, the earphones for her iPod still in place. "I believe it involved a 'Please, Dad,' and some mighty impressive puppy dog eyes."

Luke's reply was a grunt.

"I for one was very proud. Didn't know she had it in her," she quipped as she looked out the window a the large houses set on big pieces of the expensive Cape Cod landscape.

"Well, you were no help," he grumbled.

"What did you want me to do? I was choking," she answered in a low defensive tone. "Maybe it won't be that bad," she offered with a forced smile. "That's it on the left," she said pointing out the marked driveway.

"Richard, they're here" Emily called out as she opened the front door. She paused on the front porch as her husband joined her. The Jeep was just coming to a stop in the semicircular driveway.

Lorelai emerged from the passenger seat and flipped it forward for April. Then she turned and greeted her parents with a grin. "Hey. You two certainly look beachy."

Emily glanced at Richard's navy polo shirt and tan trousers then down at her own white linen slacks and a navy blue and white stripped shirt. There was an undeniably nautical feel to the outfit made even more evident by the navy anchor print scarf at her neck. "Well, this is the beach," she replied with a shrug. "I hope the drive was okay."

"It was fine," Lorelai replied taking hold of April's backpack so she could climb out of the car.

Richard walked to the back of the Jeep to help Luke with the bags. "Welcome to the Cape."

"Thank you, Mr… uh… Richard," Luke stammered then quickly focused on the bags in the back of the car.

"Whoa, fabulous house," April gushed as she clamored out of the car and reclaimed her backpack.

"Why thank you. We like it," Emily replied warmly. "Come along, girls. I'll show you to your rooms while the men get the bags." She ushered Lorelai and April into the lush beach house leading them through the entryway and to a small hallway with a bathroom at the end and a bedroom on either side. She gestured to the room facing the front of the house. "April, I thought you'd like this room."

April's eyes were as big as saucers as she entered the room. The walls were a pale buttery yellow, the trim and furniture white and there were sky blue accents everywhere. Prints of several themes, stripes, checks and florals all picked up the tricolor theme. She sat down on the bed and looked back to Emily and Lorelai who had remained in the doorway. "Wow… just… wow…this is the most beautiful room I've ever been in."

Emily smiled at the compliment. "I'm glad you like it. Lorelai, you're over here," Emily turned and opened the door on the opposite side of the hall and entered, Lorelai behind her. This room was awash in greens. Pale sage on the walls, more white trim, and accents in hunter splashed here and there. Emily stopped close to Lorelai, and said in a quiet voice, "I wasn't sure if you and Luke would be sharing a room with April here. There is an upstairs media room that has a pull out couch. It was expensive enough, but I can't promise how comfortable it is."

"Thanks, Mom. I think this is fine, but I'll talk to Luke and see what he wants to do," she answered taking in the room. As Lorelai looked around she was drawn to the French doors leading out to the patio and the view of the ocean beyond. "This really is gorgeous," she commented as she opened the doors, took a deep breath of the salt air and smiled serenely.

Emily crossed the room and stood next to her daughter. "You always did love the beach. It's too bad you and Rory were never able to come out during the summer."

Lorelai sighed. "Yeah, it is," she turned to look at Emily. "You never know, maybe she'll get some time off next summer and we can all come back."

"That would be nice," Emily agreed then quickly refocused her attention on those who were here and not the one who wasn't. "I made dinner reservations for us at seven o'clock. Does that sound okay to you?"

"Sounds great," Lorelai replied. "So we've got a couple of hours. I thought maybe Luke and April might want to head down to the water for a little while, and then we can all change for dinner."

"Why am I not surprised that is the first thing you want to do?" Emily teased.

Richard's voice called out. "This way Luke," just before they appeared in the hallway. "So what do you think of your accommodations?" he asked as he entered the bedroom carrying a medium sized suitcase and a large tote.

"It's great, Dad," Lorelai answered as her father put her tote bag on the bed and placed her suitcase next to it on the upholstered bench.

"I see you travel as light as your mother does," Richard commented with a smirk. When his remark earned him a stern look from his wife he draped his arm around her and pulled her against his side in a one armed hug.

After dropping off April's laptop case and bag in her room, Luke entered his own suitcase in his hand. "This really is a lovely house," he directed the compliment to Emily. "Thank you again for having us."

"It's our pleasure," Emily assured him.

"We'll leave you to freshen up," Richard said. "Meet us on the patio and we can all go down to the beach for a bit before dinner."

Lorelai and Emily exchanged a knowing look, and then Lorelai answered, "That's a great idea, Dad."

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Fifteen minutes later the group descended the stairs behind the house to the beach. Lorelai kicked off her flip-flops as soon as she hit the sand calling over her shoulder, "Last one to the water's a rotten egg." She sprinted to the waves April right behind her. Luke followed at a more sedate pace. Richard toed off his deck shoes and offered Emily a steadying arm while she removed her espadrilles losing the added 2 ½ inches in height they provided. Lorelai and April reached the water and waded in. Luke came to a stop several feet from the lapping waves. Emily and Richard walked up hand in hand and stood next to him.

"Come on in, the water's fine," Lorelai said smiling back at him, then her expression abruptly turned to disbelief. "I cannot believe you're still wearing your shoes. They're going to get full of sand."

April chimed in, "Yeah, Dad. You should take off your shoes."

Luke stuffed his hands awkwardly into his pockets, rocked back on his heels. "Nah, I'm fine."

Lorelai glanced to her mother and father for confirmation then back at Luke gesturing to them. "Even my parents took their shoes off."

"You're really going to make this big a deal over this?" Luke questioned.

"Clearly," came her quick reply. "Now, take 'em off mister and come here."

"Oh… my… God," Luke muttered as he hastily pulled off his tennis shoes, followed by his socks. He shoved his socks into one shoe and dropped them onto the sand. "Happy?"

Emily and Richard were trying not to laugh in deference to Luke. April had no such compunctions.

"Almost," Lorelai answered. "Now come here. It's only six inches of water. It won't hurt you."

"I'll get my pants wet," he argued.

"So roll 'em up," she countered. Lorelai was starting to get the slightest bit annoyed.

Luke obediently rolled his jeans half way up his calves. The tide was coming in and where Lorelai and April now stood the water was half way to their knees. Luke stopped when the water just barley covered his feet. Lorelai shot him an imploring look but he reasoned, "I am not getting these pants wet. Unlike you I didn't bring six changes of clothes for each day."

She glanced at April conspiratorially and raised her leg back in preparation to kick at the surface of the water. "S'okay. We can get you just as well there."

"Lorelai," Emily's voice rang out in a motherly warning.

She put her foot back into the water slowly. "I wasn't really going to do it."

April shrugged, "I was."

A large wave came in and surprised Lorelai since her back was turned, the splash wetting the hem of her denim skirt.

Richard glanced at his watch. "I hate to cut this short, but if we head back to the house now, everyone should be able to change and we'll still have time for a cocktail before dinner."

Lorelai gave her father her best mock pout. "Aw, Dad."

"You can come back tomorrow or even tonight if you really want to," Emily assured her.

"Okay," she agreed with feigned reluctance. "I call first dibs on the bathroom," she declared then ran for the house.

Emily glanced to April with a smile. "Don't worry, there's another bathroom upstairs in the loft."

"Thanks," she replied with a nod and walked up the slope to the stairs.

Emily and Richard followed, leaving Luke shaking the sand out of his sneakers.

* * *

**Notes: **Thanks to everyone who reviewed the first chapter: Mary, Emily-RichardFan, amelia, pjt-gg, lilienprinzessin, Valerie, Miss GoodManners, RiskaSG, morzsa, michaela, animachristi, gilmorefanforever, and GilmoreGirlsnOCRock. 


	3. Moonlight and Brandy

**Chapter 3**

**Moonlight and Brandy**

Luke walked though the French doors that lead from the living room onto the large back patio. The glimmering blue water of the swimming pool dominated the end nearest the guest rooms and living room with a large eating area outside the kitchen and what basically looked like an outdoor living room at the other end of the house where he guessed the master bedroom must be located. Two large sofas and a love seat formed a U with a square slate table in the middle. There was even a stripped rug of some sort under the whole arrangement. Lorelai was standing at that far end of the patio looking out at the dark ocean.

She seemed entranced by the water that he murmured a low "Hey" as he approached so that he didn't startle her.

"You know, I forgot how much I love being at the ocean," she said softly. "I mean, look at the moon and the water and… I don't know, it just makes you realize how insignificant everything is compared to that great big ocean out there."

"Um… yeah, I guess it does, doesn't it?" He answered.

Abruptly, Lorelai tore her gaze from the dazzling water and asked cheerily, "So, what's April up to?" as she plopped down on the large wicker sofa and patted the cushion next to her.

"Oh, she's IMing her friends in New Mexico," he replied. As soon as he sat down Lorelai threw her legs across his lap. "Seems that they're trying to figure out some pre-back-to-school party for next weekend."

"Oh, and is this a boy-girl pre-back-to-school party?" Lorelai teased as she raised her eyebrows up and down.

Luke wiped his hand across his face. "Probably. I don't want to think about it if you don't mind."

"Nah, I don't mind. As a matter of fact, we don't have to think at all," she flirted.

Just as she started to lean closer to Luke, Emily walked out onto the patio, "There you two are." Lorelai pulled back and started to swing her legs down. "Stay where you are. You look comfortable," Emily stopped Lorelai with a wave of her hand and sat on the opposite sofa.

"Who are you and what have you done with my mother?" Lorelai asked in a mixture of disbelief and joking, but mostly disbelief.

"Oh stop," Emily replied as she leaned back and buttoned one button on the cardigan that was draped over her shoulders to keep it in place. "Your father thought we all might like a brandy before retiring. He'll be out in just a minute."

"That sounds nice Emily, thank you," Luke responded politely.

Lorelai turned her look of disbelief from her mother to Luke. "You like brandy?"

"I like good brandy," Luke answered, "and I'm sure your father has good brandy."

"The finest Napoleon of course," Richard stated proudly having caught Luke's comment on his way over to them. He placed a tray with four snifters of brandy on the low slate topped coffee table in the middle of the seating area. "Lorelai, Luke" he said handing them their glasses. He picked up the remaining two and sat next to Emily. "My dear," he said handing her a snifter. Then he leaned back and draped his free arm across the back of the sofa behind her. Emily gave him a sideways glance and sat up a bit straighter as she warmed her brandy in her hands.

Lorelai took a sip. "Oh, smooth. Good idea, Dad."

"I've been known to have a few," he replied genially.

Luke held the bowl of the snifter in the palm of his hand and gently swirled the brandy for a moment before taking a sip.

"Wow, you do that like a real pro there," Lorelai teased.

"A good brandy should be savored," Richard said nodding at Luke with approval.

"Oh, I'm savoring, I'm savoring" Lorelai said enthusiastically and took another sip.

"This is very good brandy, sir," Luke said appreciatively.

"I was thinking we might go into the village tomorrow," Emily suggested. "There's a lovely old downtown district with darling shops. We could have lunch and then buy some groceries for the rest of the weekend."

"Groceries?" Lorelai asked.

"Well, I picked up a few things this morning," Emily explained, "but I wasn't sure what everyone would like to have on hand. If you'd rather stay here and swim, that's okay too. Luke, I'm sure you can tell me what kinds of things you and April prefer to eat."

"Wait," Lorelai said holding up her hand. "Back up. I'm still on you grocery shopping."

Richard leaned closer to Emily and dropped his hand onto her shoulder as he said, "Your mother and I rough it while we're here at the cape, shopping, cooking –"

"Cooking," Lorelai interrupted her eyes wide in shock.

Emily shifted in her seat and leaned forward. "Well, you don't have to sound like that. I can cook you know."

"I'm sorry, Mom," Lorelai apologized. "I didn't mean it to sound like that. I'm sure you can cook," she hoped her statement sounded sincere, "I was just surprised is all. I think it would be fun to check out the village tomorrow. Don't you Luke?" she asked in an effort to draw him into the conversation and diffuse things.

"Yeah, the village sounds nice," Luke agreed and almost as an after thought added "I'm sure April will get a kick out of it," gesturing toward the house where she was.

"So, that's settled. We can even have lunch at The Clam Shack," Richard remarked enthusiastically.

Emily rolled her eyes. "He always wants to go to that dive."

"Sounds like an interesting place," Luke said with a low chuckle.

"I'm in," Lorelai said with a nod.

Emily looked to her husband. "I seem to be out voted."

"You get your darling shops and I get The Clam Shack. Sounds like a fair trade off to me," he reasoned.

"I suppose," Emily said conceding the point as she leaning back against the sofa cushions and sighed.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Richard sat in bed reading and occasionally glanced toward the closed bathroom door. As soon as he heard the door open, he looked up to see Emily walking towards him in short sleeved teal green silk pajamas rubbing her hands together as if she'd just applied lotion to them. He immediately set the book and his reading glasses aside.

"Today was a very good start to the weekend, don't you think?" she asked as she climbed into bed.

"I do indeed," he agreed.

"Are you going to do any more reading?" she asked. Her book sat on the table next to her, but it was almost midnight.

"No," he answered. "I'm done for the night."

"Good," she shut off her bedside lamp then leaned toward him and said, "Goodnight," as she gave him a quick peck on the lips and settled down against her pillows.

Richard lay down and rolled onto his side next to her. His hand came to rest on her hip. "That could hardly be called a goodnight kiss."

"Okay." She brought one hand up to rest on his cheek as she met his lips in a more lingering kiss. "Better?" she asked with an indulgent smile.

"Slightly," he replied a gleam in his eye as he leaned in for another kiss.

Her hand dropped to his shoulder and held him back. "You cannot be serious. Not with everyone here."

"They're clear on the other side of the house and I'm very serious." He drew his hand from her hip up to the buttons on her pajama top.

"Richard," she warned in low throaty voice her hand gripping his wrist.

"Emily," he murmured back as he kissed her neck.

"We can't," she groaned softly.

"We can," he countered tracing the hollow in her throat with his index finger. Her hand still held his wrist but she made no effort to stop his movements.

"We'll have to be quiet," she whispered.

"I'm not the one who tends to get vocal, my dear," he quipped.

"Ver –" her reply was quickly cut off as Richard covered her mouth in a passionate kiss.

* * *

**Notes: **Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to post a review since the last update: RiskaSG, GilmoreGirlsnOCRock, Valerie, pjt-gg, Mary, Miss GoodManners, J.Stone, gilmoregirlsalwaysforever, and gilmorefanforever. 


	4. Java Jive

**Chapter 4**

**Java Jive**

"Ahhh, coffee," Richard sighed as he took a big whiff of the invigorating aroma on his way into the gleaming kitchen. The antique white cabinetry and brushed stainless steel appliances were set off by charcoal gray marble counter tops.

"Good morning…" Luke greeted him then went back to whipping something in a low mixing bowl.

"Good morning," Richard replied going straight to the coffee pot. He filled one of the sea green mugs that had been set out and raised it in Luke's direction with a nod, "You're a good man."

"Thought the least I could do was make breakfast," he explained with a shrug.

"Very nice of you," Richard said before taking another sip of his coffee. "Anything I can do to help?"

"Uh…" Luke took a quick look around. "Not much else to do until everyone else joins us… unless you'd like to eat now."

Richard leaned back against the counter. "Emily should be out shortly. I think we can wait and all eat together."

"Morning, Dad, Mr. Gilmore," April greeted cheerily walking into the kitchen.

"Good morning," Richard answered jovially.

"Hey." Luke smiled and nodded at her. "Juice?" he offered opening the refrigerator and taking out a pitcher of orange juice.

"Sure," April nodded and thanked him as he poured her a glass.

"Good morning, April, Luke," Emily said breezing into the kitchen. "Ah you made coffee," she said to Richard eying the pot on the counter.

He poured her a mug, but replied, "No, Luke made the coffee. He's making breakfast for everyone this morning."

"That's very nice of you, Luke, but it wasn't necessary." she said with a smile noticing the neat arrangement of bowls and pans set out behind Luke on the counter and stove.

"I know it's not necessary, but I wanted to help out. I hope you don't mind," he said sincerely.

"I don't mind." She gestured nonchalantly with her mug and took a sip leaning against the counter next to Richard. "Mmm, this is excellent coffee, Luke"

"Thanks," he said acknowledging the compliment.

"So what's for breakfast," Emily asked brightly as Richard slipped his arm around her. She shot him a questioning glance out of the corner of her eye and tensed slightly.

"Blueberry French toast, sausage, and fresh fruit," Luke rattled off the menu he had in mind.

"Sounds wonderful," Richard remarked. "Now all we need is for Lorelai to make her appearance."

"Ah, do I have timing or what?" Lorelai announced dramatically from the kitchen doorway and curtsied on her way into the room. "Hold your applause everyone, just give me COFFEE!"

April laughed, Emily rolled her eyes and Richard poured her the requested beverage.

"Morning," she said to the room in general, kissing Luke on the cheek as she walked passed him and took the mug her father was holding out to her. "Thanks, Dad."

"Well, Luke can we help with breakfast?" Emily asked.

"Food's all ready to go," he answered giving the batter a quick whisk. "Maybe set the table. I wasn't sure which dishes and linens you'd want to use," he suggested.

"I think we can handle that, right girls?" Emily answered putting her half full coffee mug down on the counter.

"Sure," April put down her juice and followed Emily out of the room.

Lorelai took several quick gulps of her coffee and picked up the pot to refill the mug.

"Lorelai," her mother called from the dining room.

"Coming, Mom," she yelled back as she shoved the pot back into place and hurried out of the room firmly clutching her mug in both hands.

Lorelai blinked a few times as she regarded the people sitting around the table. Her whole world was tilted on its axis. The seating arrangement in Cape Cod was a different as everything else seemed to be here. Her Father sat at the head of the table and she was along one side, but that was all that seemed normal. Her mother had taken the seat across from her, Luke to her side at the end opposite her father and April on her other side.

"Luke that was really wonderful French toast," Emily raved, "and the cinnamon butter is a brilliant touch."

"Yes, Luke, very good indeed" Richard agreed finishing off his second helping with a last few hearty bites.

"Definitely in the top five of your breakfast repertoire," Lorelai added. "It's the cinnamon butter that puts it over the top, just edging out your banana nut pancakes."

"Yeah, Dad, it's really good," April joined in the round of compliments.

"Thanks," Luke said with a brisk nod, "a cook's only as good as his ingredients. Emily, this is really great bread, where did you get it?"

"Oh there's an excellent bakery in the village," Emily answered enthusiastically. "It's better than any in Connecticut. We'll stop there later."

Lorelai's eyes got bigger, "This bakery has more than just good bread, right?"

"Yes, Lorelai, they have sweets too," Emily replied as she stood up.

"They have simply outstanding éclairs, and a black and white cookie to die for," Richard added.

Lorelai smiled at her father. "Cool."

"Richard, you are not going to load up on desserts," Emily declared as she stood and picked up his plate and mug.

Richard, knowing his wife's admonition stemmed from her somewhat justifiable concern for his health, stood and placed a soothing hand on her back. "All things in moderation, my dear, I promise not to load up on desserts as it were."

"See that you don't." She looked up at him briefly and offered him a half smile, then strode into the kitchen.

Richard collected his wife's place setting and followed her. She was at the sink loading the dirty dishes into the dishwasher. Without comment she took those he was holding, rinsed them under the running water and placed them into the machine. She straightened up and turned to go back to the dining room and was startled to find him standing right behind her. "What are you doing?" she hissed in a low voice.

"I'm enjoying a moment with my wife," he answered as he wrapped his arms around her resting his joined hands on the small of her back.

She glared up at him and pushed against his chest. "Honestly."

"Hey where do you want – whoa, guys offspring present!" Lorelai came to an abrupt halt, the remaining plates and silverware in her hands.

Emily glared at Richard who released her and stepped back. "Just give them to me," she replied reaching out and taking the plates from Lorelai.

Luke and April brought in the remainder of the dishes from the table which Emily efficiently rinsed and loaded into the dishwasher. Lorelai gaped as she watched her mother work. Luke sidled up next to her with a grin and murmured, "Close your mouth."

Richard had picked up the soiled napkins and taken them into the laundry area off to the side. He reentered the kitchen rubbing his hands together. "Everyone ready to go?"

Emily closed up the dishwasher and hit the button to start it. "I think we should all freshen up and meet in the living room in ten minutes."

Lorelai turned to April, "She means go to the bathroom."

April replied, "I actually figured that out myself."

"Ah, that's right, honor student," Lorelai said seriously as she patted April's shoulder and edged passed her, "and yet, I always beat you to the bathroom," she teased as she sauntered out of the room.

April shrugged, "I know, upstairs." She sighed and left the room. Luke followed her out.

Emily turned toward the other end of the house and the master bedroom. As she walked in front of Richard he gently swatted her on the rear end. She whirled around to face him. "What has gotten into you? You're acting like a randy teenager." Her voice was low in an effort to keep anyone from overhearing.

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer. "Just can't keep my hands off of my lovely wife is all. You don't usually mind."

She glanced down then back up at him. "Just stop doing it in front of people, okay?"

"They're not people, Emily. They're family or as good as," he reasoned.

Emily closed her eyes took a deep breath then exhaled slowly. She lightly patted his chest a couple of times then turned away. "We need to get going."

* * *

**Notes: **Thank you very much to everyone who has reviewed since I last posted: GilmoreGirlsnOCRock, Emily&Richard4ever, pjt-gg, Emily-RichardFan, Mary, J.Stone, Valerie, morzsa, Miss GoodManners, gilmoregirlsalwaysforever, gilmorefanforever. 

I know these last chapters haven't been very long, but I promise there are longer chapters yet to come.


	5. Going Bananas

**Chapter 5**

**Going Bananas**

Lorelai held up the small shopping bag in her hand, "So, darling stores, check," She lowered the bag, "Clam Shack, check and by the way good call, Dad."

"Yeah, lunch was very good," Luke agreed.

Richard puffed out his chest and looked down at Emily "See, I told you."

"Best food I've ever had at a place with the word shack in the name," April said.

"Ah, grasshopper, have you never been to Tico's Taco Shack?" asked Lorelai in her best _Kung Fu_ inspired accent.

April laughed at Lorelai and shook her head. "Noooo."

"No offense to the Clam Shack, Dad, because as shacks go it's top notch, but Tico's Taco Shack is really a five star kind of place," Lorelai explained.

"Five stars?" Luke asked incredulously, "on what scale?"

"Well, five Rolaids anyway," Lorelai replied then looked back at April. "We'll have to go there before you head back to New Mexico."

"Okay, I'm game," April replied.

"We'll see," Luke said with the hope that he could possibly derail that idea, but knowing deep down that it was futile.

"So, what's next on the agenda?" Lorelai asked brightly.

"I think perhaps something sweet is in order," Richard suggested placing one hand on Emily's back and gesturing up the street with the other.

"Richard, you just had a very heavy lunch," Emily protested as they began to walk in the direction he'd indicated the others following.

"I think you'll approve of what I have in mind, my dear," he assured her. "It's really quite healthy."

"Hmmm," she responded with an undertone of 'we'll see about that.'

They passed by a candy store, two ice cream parlors, and three coffee houses, Emily shooting him sidelong looks as the walked by each. Richard finally stopped in front of a small building painted bright yellow with a yellow and white stripped awning and he looked at Emily pointedly.

"Oh, I love frozen bananas," April said excitedly looking at the building which had a giant banana on the roof. She stepped up to the window to survey the options.

"Bananas, Dad?" Lorelai asked clearly disappointed, "I thought we were going to get something good. I mean we passed plenty of places." She gestured back they way they'd come.

"It's dipped in chocolate, Lorelai," Richard replied, "and you can even pick out what topping you want."

"I don't care if you put chocolate on it, it's still fruit," Lorelai countered with a pout.

"But you like bananas," Emily reminded her.

"You'll regret it if you don't at least give it a try," Richard warned. "Everyone else will be enjoying a delicious frozen banana and you'll be standing there empty handed, and I for one do not plan to share."

"Fine," Lorelai huffed and went to look at the toppings.

Richard stepped up to the window to order. "We'd like five of the large frozen bananas please. One with coconut…" He turned to his wife. "Emily? Almonds?" she nodded, "one with almonds, and whatever they want." Richard stepped to the next window and paid. The woman behind the counter handed him the two he'd ordered. Emily took some napkins out of the dispenser on the counter and wrapped the stick of her banana in one as Richard handed it to her. Then handed him some of the napkins and he did the same.

"Just plain for me," Luke ordered and quickly received his chocolate covered banana.

"Sprinkles, I want sprinkles, please," Lorelai said when it was her turn. "At least I can have candy on the outside." She looked at her banana like it might jump off the stick and bite her.

April ordered hers with crushed Oreos.

Lorelai watched Luke and April take small nibbles of the rock hard fruit and was about to try a bite when she noticed her parents were just standing there. "You're not eating yours. Is there something wrong with them?" she asked with concern.

"If you wait a few moments, they soften up some," her father explained.

Lorelai shook her head. "My parents, the frozen banana experts." She looked at Luke and shrugged but decided to follow their lead especially since she wasn't in any particular hurry to eat the thing in her hand.

A minute or so later Richard took a bite of his banana and proclaimed it "Outsanding." Emily had begun to take amazingly dainty bites considering the brittle chocolate, the loose nuts and the relative difficulty of eating a banana on a stick. Lorelai squinted uncomfortably at the image that leapt to her mind and quickly looked away before anyone could ask her what the problem was. Luke and April were half done with theirs.

"You really should give it a try," Luke told her. "It's surprisingly good." Lorelai took a tiny tentative bite. "You didn't even get any of the banana, take a real bite."

"Okay, okay," she said defensively. "I just want to ease into it."

She took a small bite this time getting banana along with the chocolate and sprinkles. "Not bad," she announced and took another bite.

"I told you it was good," Richard gloated.

"Okay, it's good," she admitted reluctantly then added, "but it's no hot fudge sundae."

Once everyone had finished eating their frozen bananas, Emily glanced down at her watch. "We really should head over to the grocery store, unless anyone has something else they'd like to do first."

Lorelai waited a moment, no one spoke up. "Looks like it's grocery time." She gestured for her mother to lead the way and fell into step next to her, Richard, Luke and April brining up the rear.

Emily glanced down at the shopping bag Lorelai was carrying. "We're walking by the car. You could put that in the trunk with your other purchases."

"Nah, I'm good," Lorelai replied.

Emily huffed in disapproval.

Lorelai reached into the bag, "Come on, Mom, I don't know why you don't like him," she pulled out a small stuffed bird. "He even sings." She demonstrated by squeezing the body of the bird which started warbling its bird call.

"I do not know why you insisted on bringing that ridiculous toy into the restaurant with us at lunch," Emily stated in consternation. "I can't for the life of me understand why you even bought it."

"It's a painted bunting and it's from the Audubon Society. It's very educational, that's its real call it plays," she explained squeezing it again and setting it off.

"What are you going to do with it?" Emily asked as they crossed the street.

Lorelai shrugged. "I liked it, so I bought it, that's all. Not everything has to have a purpose. Maybe I'll give it to Paul Anka."

"Well, if you won't put it in the car, at least put it away," Emily instructed as they entered the grocery store.

Richard broke away from Luke and April outside the front of the store. Inside, Emily walked directly over to the produce section and began looking at vegetables. Lorelai stood frozen a few yards into the store next to a large display of strawberries, watching her mother. Luke and April stopped next to her. When she saw her father enter with a shopping cart and walk up to her mother she couldn't hold back any longer. "Am I going crazy? Have the body snatchers landed and replaced my parents with pod people? Maybe this is Stepford and not Cape Cod. Quick make a break for it before they get us too."

Luke was used to her dramatics and he was unflappable, but he had to agree to a point. "It is a bit odd, but everything seems to be going well."

"I don't get it. What's the big deal?" April asked oblivious to anything out of the ordinary other than Lorelai's meltdown.

"You were at my parents' house for dinner last Friday. That was normal. This is not normal. They do not shop and cook and do the dishes," she turned to Luke. "My mother actually did the dishes this morning?" She seemed to need confirmation so he nodded. She turned back to April still trying to explain, "They do not do these things. They have people to do these things. They have maids, and cooks and gardeners, and …and people." She seemed to have run out of steam and breath at the same time. She took a deep breath.

"Um… I think your mother wants you," April said nodding over to Emily who was standing next to the broccoli motioning for them to come over.

Luke leaned in and asked quietly, "You okay now?"

Lorelai took a few more deep breaths. "Yeah, just needed to get that out of my system I guess."

Luke nodded and placed his hand on the middle of her back gently propelling her in the direction of her parents.

"So what does everyone like? Carrots? Broccoli? Green Beans?" Emily asked gesturing to the assorted vegetables.

"Yeah, all of those sound good," Lorelai answered. "Whatever you want, Mom."

Emily looked to April who replied, "I'm easy, I like all vegetables."

"I thought we'd grill steaks tonight. Everyone likes steaks, don't they?" Richard asked.

"Yeah." "Sure." Luke and April answered at the same time while Lorelai nodded.

"Fine then," Richard nodded "I'll just go pick out the meat. Luke, care to join me?"

Luke shrugged, "Sure."

Richard turned to Emily. "We'll find you when we're done."

She gave him a quick nod and selected a bunch of carrots then some green beans and put them into the cart. "Lorelai, would you get some potatoes? I thought we'd have baked potatoes with the steaks tonight."

"Sure," Lorelai answered quickly then added, "um… how do you pick out potatoes?"

"I'm on it," said April and she went over to get the potatoes.

"Need anything else Mom?" Lorelai asked.

Emily shrugged, "Well, you could pick out a few of those salad mixes if you want."

Lorelai smiled, "That I can handle."

They had been up and down almost every isle in the store and the cart was filled up with more than enough food for the next few days. Lorelai glanced down as they passed the cake mixes and Jello-O boxes. "Ooh, marshmallows!" She bent over and picked up two big bags and placed them in the cart her father had resumed pushing.

"What are those for?" he asked.

"Well, you told me about that cool fire pit you've got on the patio. We could fire it up and makes s'mores," she said eagerly.

"What are sum ores?" Emily asked.

"Oh, you'll see," Lorelai taunted her eyes gleaming. "April, go get like ten, twelve Hershey bars," she eyed her mother and remembered that she liked almonds, "get some with nuts." Then she turned to Luke, "Graham crackers, like two aisles back on the left near the bottom."

"I'm not even going to ask how you remembered that," he responded and then walked away shaking his head.

"Lorelai, what is all of this for?" Emily asked growing impatient.

"I can't really explain it, Mom, you just have to try one. Sticks, I don't suppose you have sticks lying around the house…oh, I know. Meet you guys in the front," she called over her shoulder as she hurried off.

"Sticks? What is that girl up to?" Emily asked her husband.

"I don't know," Richard answered with a big grin and draped one arm around her shoulders, "but she seems to be very excited about it."

Emily smiled back up at him. "She does, doesn't she?"

* * *

**Notes:** Thanks to everyone who has posted reviews since the last chapter: GilmoreGirlsnOCRock, lilienprinzessin, Mary, Miss GoodManners, pjt-gg, Valerie, J.Stone, gilmorefanforever, gilmoregirlsalwaysforever, and LorLukealways. I really appreciate knowing what you like and that you're still reading. Makes my day. 


	6. Someone's in the Kitchen with Emily

**Chapter 6**

**Someone's in the Kitchen with Emily**

The groceries were quickly put away and Emily had suggested that Luke, Lorelai and April go down to the beach before dinner. After about half an hour they came back up to the house so that April could swim laps in the pool. Lorelai lounged on a chaise in the sun wearing a royal blue swimsuit with a matching sarong of royal blue and purple flowers.

Luke went into the kitchen and found Emily putting the potatoes into the oven. "Any thing I can do to help?"

She closed the oven and gave him a warm smile. "No, thanks. Not much to do. Salad is made except for the dressing, potatoes are in the oven and it's too early to put on the green beans." She went to the sink and washed her hands.

"Guess you're all set," he said. "Why don't you come out and join us for a while then."

"You know, I think I will." She dried her hands on a tea towel, then walked over to the refrigerator.

Richard walked briskly into the kitchen humming and was surprised to find Luke there. "Back from the beach already?"

"April wanted to get in some laps before dinner," Luke replied.

Emily had taken a cut glass pitcher of pink liquid out of the refrigerator and she placed it on the island. "Richard, would you please get down a tray?" she asked on her way to cabinet where they kept the glasses.

Richard reached easily into the high cabinet over the refrigerator and pulled out a tray. Soon it was filled with the pitcher, and five ice filled glasses, and Luke was carrying it over to the oblong teak dining table on the patio followed by Emily and Richard.

Richard paused at the edge of the pool and watched April practice her freestyle stroke. "Oh, flip turns, always hated those," he commented as she executed the racing turn underwater and headed toward the other end of the pool.

"Is that what that's called?" Lorelai asked as she sat down at the table between Luke and Emily. Her mother handed her a glass of the limeade. "What's this?"

"This is something I discovered last month at Pixie Lewis's garden party," Emily animatedly launched into her tale of discovering the new beverage, "She of course wouldn't tell me where she got it, but I asked around, did some digging and found out that Marjorie Townsend had served it at the bridge club they belong to with a few other people I know. Marjorie finally admitted it was a frozen mix. It's really very good, don't you think?"

"Whoa, nice story, still no clue what's in the glass," Lorelai said picking it up and eyeing it warily.

"It is cherry limeade and stop looking at it. Just drink it, Lorelai." Emily said flatly and then took a sip of her own drink.

"Mmm, good," Lorelai observed then took another sip. "You know what would make this even better? Rum?"

Emily rolled her eyes.

"Very good idea. We'll have to try that," Richard suggested to Emily.

"Really, both of you, must everything have alcohol in it?" she asked looking from Lorelai to Richard and fixing the latter with a stern glare.

"What? You would prefer vodka?" Lorelai teased.

A small smile appeared on Emily's lips as she shook her head and looked away from her daughter.

An electronic beeping sound began and Lorelai called out, "April. April." She continued to swim and the beeping continued too. Luke got up and retrieved his watch from the low table near the chaise Lorelai had occupied earlier. The beeping stopped. April kept swimming. "Luke, tell her it's break time."

Luke crouched down near the edge of the pool as April approached. "April." She stopped at the wall and looked up at him. "Break time," he explained holding up the watch. "Come have something to drink."

"Okay," she answered and swam to the stairs. Picking up a navy and white stripped beach towel she dried off, wrapped herself in the towel and walked over to the table.

"Here you are," Emily said handing her a glass of limeade.

"Thanks," she replied politely and took a sip.

"You've got a very solid stroke. Good extension." Richard praised her efforts.

"Thanks, but my flip turns stink," April said as she moved to stand back in the sun.

"I wouldn't say stink," Richard replied. "I think it if you start your turn a bit further out from the wall you'll get a better push off and you could try using one arm to flip and one to set your orientation in the water."

April nodded in understanding. "I've seen some people do that but I haven't ever tried it."

"Well give it a try next time, see what you think," Richard said.

"I will," said April appreciatively.

"When did you become a swim coach?" Lorelai wondered aloud.

"Never coached," Richard answered, "but I did swim on my prep school team for three years."

Lorelai stared at him in surprise then shook herself out of it and quipped, "Why only three years?"

"I got tired of being water logged," he said with a smile.

Emily glanced at her watch. "I'm going to go check the potatoes. They should have about half an hour left," she told Richard as she rose and went into the house.

"I should see about the propane tank," Richard said as he got up and walked over to the large grill.

Lorelai looked over at April. "Okay, kid, since you're all drippy and everything. I'll let you use the downstairs shower."

"Nah," April said, "I left all my stuff upstairs anyway."

"Okay, just don't say I didn't offer," Lorelai teased then got up and went inside to shower and change out of her swimsuit.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

After a quick shower, Lorelai dressed in a sleeveless yellow sundress and headed for the kitchen to find her mother. Emily had changed too. She was wearing a wrap dress in shades of green and white. The sleeves ended just above her elbows and the skirt brushed the middle of her knees. No pearls and no apron, but Lorelai had a quick flash of Donna Reed as she watched her mother forking the potatoes and closing the oven. She walked into the kitchen and leaned her forearms against the island as her mother shut off the oven and turned around. "So, Mom, who taught you to cook?" she refrained from adding 'and why am I seeing this for the first time at 39 years old.'

"My mother mostly," Emily answered as she reached into a colander on the island and began snapping the ends off of the green beans, "and watching our cooks when I was a girl. In my day, every young girl was taught what she would need to know to run a household." A wistful look passed over her face and she quickly picked up more beans. "My mother always said 'you can hardly supervise a staff if you don't know the correct way things should be done.'"

"Makes sense," Lorelai replied with a nod. "I mean it's the same way with the inn. Since I've done all those jobs myself, I know if someone is slacking off or not doing things the way I want."

"Yes, I suppose it is." Emily smiled at her daughter enjoying the moment of connection, but knowing from experience it would probably be broken soon.

Lorelai rounded the corner of the island and stopped next to her mother. "So, why don't you show me what you're doing here," she said gesturing to the beans.

Emily glanced back down into the colander again and bit her bottom lip then she shrugged and began to explain. "Well, you see these ends of the bean?" She held one up and demonstrated. "You want to snap those off, and then just put it in the bowl."

Lorelai picked up a few beans and did as her mother had shown her. Emily watched her and nodded in approval, then continued working herself. Moments later all the beans were transferred to the bowl only the ends remaining in the bottom of the colander. "So what's next?" Lorelai asked.

Emily emptied the colander into the trash compactor as she said, "Your father needs to start the steaks before we cook the beans or they'll get mushy and overdone," she explained as she rinsed the colander and placed it on the counter next to the sink and waked over to the French doors between the kitchen and the patio.

Outside, Luke sipped his beer as he looked over the Gilmore version of a barbeque which constituted a complete outdoor kitchen faced with decorative slate. There was a huge gas grill, a small refrigerator from which Richard had given him the beer he was currently sipping. There was even a sink and a two burner stove. The platter of prime cut steaks sat on a granite counter top next to the closed grill.

Richard took a sip of his own beer. "Quite a setup isn't it?" he asked with pride.

"Definitely," Luke agreed. "How many BTUs?"

"Sixty thousand plus," Richard boasted happily.

Luke shook his head in awe, "Wow."

"Richard," Emily's voice called out.

He turned and answered, "Yes, Emily."

"You can put the steaks on now," she told him.

"Will do," he called back with a wave then turned and fired up the grill.

Emily stepped back into the kitchen and closed the door. She walked over to the stove where a pot of water was already boiling. "Lorelai, would you please had me the beans?"

"Sure, Mom," Lorelai picked up the bowl and handed it to her.

Emily gently put the beans into the boiling water and then washed out the bowl and put it on the counter next to the colander.

Lorelai looked around, found a kitchen towel and dried both. "Where do these go, Mom? I'll put them away."

"Oh, the colander goes down there," she answered pointing to one of the cabinets in the island, "and the bowl goes with those," she pointed to an open shelf with a larger mixing bowl on it. When Lorelai got it down she found that there were smaller bowls nested inside. She took out the two smallest, put in the one she was holding and then replaced them all and put them back on the shelf.

Emily had retrieved butter and a jar of minced garlic from the refrigerator and placed it on the counter near the stove. She saw that Lorelai was watching her intently. "The beans need to cook a few more minutes," she explained. "You could slice the bread… if you want." Emily pointed out the loaf of French bread sitting in a cloth lined basket. A cutting board and knife were already out next to it on the side counter.

"That sounds easy enough," Lorelai said with a smile as she began the new task her mother had given her.

Lorelai paused in her slicing as she watched Emily out of the corner of her eye. Emily reached into a cabinet under the stove, took out a large skillet and placed it on the burner next to the bubbling pot. Then she took a slotted spoon from the canister near the stove and stirred the beans. She was still absorbing the fact that her mother seemed as at home in the kitchen as Betty Crocker. She quickly went back to her slicing when her mother glanced in her direction. As Lorelai finished putting the sliced bread back into the basket she heard a clicking sound and turned toward the stove. Emily was turning the flame on under the skillet. Lorelai quickly walked over to that end of the kitchen and asked, "So what are you doing now?"

Emily smiled over her shoulder at her daughter surprised that she still seemed interested. "I'm making green bean almandine. So," she began to explain each step as she did it, "you add butter" she cut off a large pat of butter and put it into the skillet, "and oil," she poured oil from a can near the stove into the pan.

"Why both?" Lorelai asked curiously.

"The butter is for flavor, but it has a low burning temperature so that's why you need the oil too." Emily opened the jar of minced garlic, and put small amount into the pan. "I really should chop the garlic myself, but I hate the way my hands smell afterwards," she confessed "this seems to work just as well." She reached for a wooden spatula and began stirring the garlic as it cooked. She was surprised to see her daughter was watching her every move intently. "Now we'll add the beans," she picked up the slotted spoon and began lifting the beans out of the water and into the skillet letting each spoonful drip for several seconds over the water first. With all the beans in the pan, she began stirring them with the spatula. "Why don't you grind in some pepper?" Emily pointed to the pepper mill on the counter next to the stove.

Lorelai picked it up hesitantly as she asked, "How much?"

"Just grind some in slowly and I'll tell you when to stop," Emily answered moving the beans around in the skillet so that the pepper was distributed evenly. "Okay, that's good."

Lorelai put the pepper mill back on the counter. "So, doesn't almandine mean with almonds? Where are the nuts?"

"There's a bag of sliced almonds in the cabinet in front of you, ah… middle shelf, two-thirds of the way over on the right, I think. I must have forgotten to get them out."

Lorelai opened the cabinet and saw the bag of almonds exactly where her mother said it would be. "Wow, that was amazing. Quick where's the…" Lorelai looked through the cabinet for something to quiz her mother on, "where's the…"

"Lorelai, would you please hand me the almonds?" her mother asked a hint of impatience creeping into her voice.

"Oh yeah, sure," Lorelai said putting the bag down on the counter next to her mother.

Emily opened the bag and poured some of the almonds into the skillet and stirred.

"Where's the cocoa powder?" she asked.

Emily decided to play her daughter's little game for the moment. "Middle shelf on the left next to the powdered sugar."

"Okay, you got that one, where's the… molasses?"

Emily shook her head and turned off the burner under the beans. "Top shelf slightly to the left of the exact center."

"Okay those were easy. Where is the… cream of tartar?" Lorelai slowly sounded out the words of the unknown product

Emily pulled on an oven mitt and began taking the potatoes out of the oven and placing them onto a round off white platter. "This is the last one."

"No stalling, where's the cream of tartar?" Lorelai teased then muttered as she closed the cabinet door, "What is cream of tartar anyway?"

Emily placed the potatoes on the island and picked up a matching oblong platter and began spooning the green beans onto it. "Cream of tartar is an acid. It's used to stabilize egg whites or with baking soda as a leavening agent, and it's on the spice rack."

Lorelai whirled around and faced her mother. "Ah ha! Where on the spice rack?" she demanded with a triumphant grin.

"Top shelf near the middle," Emily answered.

"How on earth can you remember that?" Lorelai reopened the cabinet and began scanning the spice rack. "Oh… my… God… they're alphabetized. Your spices are alphabetized."

Emily shrugged. "That way I know where everything is. Now, stop playing around. I hope the steaks are ready. Lorelai, bring the potatoes and the bread to the table please." Emily instructed picking up the green beans and opening the outside door with her free hand.

Once Richard had put the steaks on the grill the men stood watching the sizzling meat in silence for a few minutes. "Your daughter is a lovely girl. You should be very proud of her."

"Thank you, but I haven't had much to do with her up bringing until the last few years," Luke said looking out at the ocean.

"Well, from what I've heard of the situation, that was hardly your doing," Richard said, a bit of anger on Luke's behalf edging into his tone. Richard took a deep breath and checked the steaks, deciding they were progressing nicely, he began turning them over. "Appreciate the time you have now, Luke. You never know when it might end."

"Yeah," Luke agreed noticing with a sideways glance the far away look on the elder man's face. He sincerely hoped that he would not have to go through anything like what Lorelai had put her parents through. Not that they were blameless, but being a parent had given him a different perspective and he had no delusions about how difficult the woman he loved must have been as a teenager. Hell, she was a handful now.

"So how do you like your steak, Luke?" Richard asked.

Startled out of his thoughts, Luke answered, "Medium rare."

"Wonderful." Richard replied staring intently at the steaks and moving a thicker one to the center of the grill. "What about April?"

"Uh… I'm not…" Luke stammered unsure of the answer when the French doors off of the living room opened and his daughter walked outside in a white skirt and blue top. "April," he called out to her "how do you like your steak?"

"Oh medium's fine," she answered walking over to the grill to stand next to them.

"You look nice," Luke complimented her and she looked away slightly embarrassed. "Cerulean?" he asked gesturing to her top.

She smiled at him indulgently remembering when she'd helped decorate his apartment with the color. "Yeah, cerulean, not my favorite anymore, but I still like it."

Richard looked over at them and asked eagerly, "And what is the current color of choice?"

"Sage," she replied. "I think sage is going to be my new color, though I really do like that blue that's in your guest room here, but I don't know exactly what it's called."

"Ah, well, I'm sure my lovely wife will be able to help you with that," Richard said with a fond smile at the thought of Emily. "She decorated the entire house and she's a veritable expert with color."

"I'll be sure to ask her," she said.

Richard turned back to the grill. "Looks like these steaks are done, I hope that Emily…" he trailed off as Lorelai and Emily emerged from the house carrying the rest of dinner.

"Perfect timing," he announced as he began to remove the steaks from the grill and place them on a clean platter.

Emily put the green beans on the table and scanned the surface checking off her mental list. "I forgot the salad." She headed back to the kitchen and when she came out salad bowl in hand everyone was seated around the table. Her husband stood up as she approached. He reached for the salad bowl and used the movement to bend down and steal a kiss before placing it on the table. "Richard," she hissed under her breath as he moved behind her and held out the chair next to his.

He leaned close to her ear and whispered, "I love you," as she sat down. He moved to resume his own seat and watched the slight smile that graced her features as she looked down and settled her napkin on her lap.

Lorelai watched her parents with a little bit of envy. They'd always shared an affection that she'd never felt a part of, nothing really overt, but small touches here and there, occasionally a quick kiss. Rory had been let into that little world of physical contact, but she hadn't.

Luke surveyed the food before them and said, "Everything looks wonderful, Emily."

"Thank you," she replied with a smile.

"I helped with the green beans," Lorelai chimed in pointing with her fork. "And I cut the bread."

"That's very good, Lorelai," her father went along with her happily praising her as he would a small child with an indulgent smile.

* * *

**Notes: **Thank you to everyone who has posted reviews since the last update: GilmoreGirlsnOCRock, amelia, LorLukealways, Mary, gilmorefanforever, Valerie, pjt-gg, gilmoregirlsalwaysforever, and UnaVitaSegreta. Special mention to Miss GoodManners, thanks so much for taking the time to write such detail in your reviews. 

Also, continued thanks to UnaVitaSegreta and Mel for their assistance and encouragement. Couldn't and wouldn't do this with out you lovely ladies.


	7. Because You'll Want Some More

**Chapter 7**

**Because You'll Want Some More…**

After dinner, the dishes were quickly cleared. Luke insisted that he and April would load the dishwasher and clean up the kitchen so Lorelai literally pushed her parents back out onto the patio telling her father to "light up that fire pit already."

As the door closed behind them Emily rolled her eyes up to meet her husband's gaze. "Do you have any idea what these sum ores are that she's been going on about all day?"

"Not a clue, my dear," he replied wrapping an arm around her shoulders and leading her over to the U-shaped seating area at the end of the patio. He leaned over the low slate table and gently pushed down on one edge of the center panel. The other side rose up and he lifted it out.

"You know we've hardly used this thing. I hope you remember how it works," Emily fretted staring down at the pipe and grate hidden inside the table as Richard stowed the table top cover behind the love seat leaning against the house. "Do you need one of those lighters?"

"There's a built in igniter," he answered as he rounded the side of the house where the wood was stored.

Emily shrugged and sat down on the end of the long sofa that faced the rest of the patio.

Richard returned carrying several pieces of wood which he arranged into a tepee shape in the fire pit. Then he sat down right next to Emily squeezing her into the corner of the sofa as he leaned forward and partially across her legs to open the panel on the side of the table with the fire controls. His free hand came to rest on her knee.

She tried to slide over but there was no where to go. "Would you like me to move?"

Richard looked up at her, a gleam in his eyes, "Not on your life." He gave her knee a squeeze and pressed the button that brought to life the gas flame below the wood. Sitting up, he kept his hand on her knee and used the other to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. Something about the way she'd styled it this morning was softer than usual. His hand lingered on her face, his thumb brushing along her cheek bone. He watched her eyes open wide as he leaned in, but she made no move to stop him. Their lingering kiss was tender, loving and held an undercurrent of their long shared passion, but he kept himself in check. Pulling back slightly, he gave her a couple of light kisses before leaning back. Her eyes fluttered open and a smile played at the corner of her mouth just as they heard the door to the house opening and voices from within.

"Luke, don't forget the napkins," Lorelai called back as she emerged from the house. She walked over to the seating area and placed a platter piled high with marshmallows on the wide rim of the table that surrounded the fire pit. Then she handed each of her parents a dessert sized plate and a long wooden skewer.

Emily eyed the skewer warily. "What do I do with this?"

Lorelai laughed, "You toast your marshmallow."

"I haven't roasted marshmallows since I was a boy," Richard remarked happily. He picked up a couple of marshmallows, pushed one onto the end of his skewer then switched with Emily taking her empty one and putting the other marshmallow on it.

April brought out two plates and put them down next to the marshmallows; one covered with Hershey bars that had been broken in half arranged neatly on the plate, one side plain, the other almond and another one piled high with graham crackers. Luke brought out a tray containing mugs, a pot of coffee and the napkins which Lorelai snatched from the tray and handed out.

She held the plate of graham crackers out to her parents. "Take one, and break it in half," she instructed and they each did as they were told. Her mother looked a bit uncertain, but her father's eyes sparkled with boyish enjoyment. "Okay, put a piece of Hershey bar on one of your graham cracker halves," April and Luke were loading up their plates too. She quickly looked around. "Everyone have a marshmallow?" Luke and April were sitting on the couch opposite her parents each holding a marshmallow loaded skewer. Lorelai held hers up as she stood in front of the loveseat all eyes on her. "Okay, one, two, three, everybody toast!" She held hers into the fire and slowly the others followed suit.

"Now, what?" Emily asked trying very hard to set aside her distaste for this whole idea.

Lorelai sat down on the edge of the loveseat leaning forward to keep her marshmallow in the fire. "Well, now we wait for the marshmallow to get all toasty and melty." She pulled hers out of the flames to check it. It was barley turning golden around the edges, no where near ready.

"We made s'mores at camp, but we used the Bunsen burners in the chem lab. It was the funniest thing." April said looking at her marshmallow then putting it back into the fire.

Lorelai decided hers was toasted enough and pulled it out. "Okay, marshmallows out of the fire," Richard, Emily and April played along. Lorelai shot Luke a questioning stare.

"What?" he replied defensively, "I like mine a bit more well done."

Watching her parents, she continued the instructions, "Put the marshmallow on top of the chocolate then cover it with the other graham cracker and pull out the stick." Lorelai picked her s'more up off the plate. "Now, smush."

Richard pressed the top graham cracker down and marshmallow oozed out the sides. He picked the whole thing up eyeing it merrily.

"So try it already," Lorelai encouraged.

He took a good sized bite. "Mmmm…."

"Mom?" Lorelai asked. Emily was still looking at the concoction on her plate. She hadn't pushed the top graham cracker down as enthusiastically as her husband had. Hers was balanced precariously on the top. "Go ahead."

Emily watched as Richard took another big bite of his then shrugged. She lifted the plate up with one hand and held it under the s'more as she picked it up, squishing it together so she could take a small bite. She kept her face neutral as she chewed and swallowed putting her plate back down.

"Well?" Lorelai demanded with excited impatience.

It wasn't really her kind of dessert, but she didn't want to disappoint Lorelai. "It's surprisingly good." She took another small bite, this time she got more chocolate and almond with the marshmallow and graham cracker. It wasn't half bad.

"It's wonderful," Richard said and promptly finished off his first s'more and started to roast another marshmallow. "So, explain this name to me, Lorelai, sum ore?" he said sounding it out awkwardly.

"Well, they're so good you'll want s'more," she deadpanned drawing out the last word with emphasis.

There were a few seconds of silence then Richard broke into deep hearty laughter. Lorelai giggled along. Emily looked at her husband as though he'd lost his mind. It just made him laugh harder. "S'more," he choked out laughing so hard tears began to pool in the corners of his eyes and he wiped them away. His laughter caused Lorelai to laugh louder and April to start giggling. Even Luke chuckled at the scene in front of him.

"I fail to see why that is so side splittingly funny?" Emily asked. Richard turned to her mouthing words with no sounds coming out. The look on his face was her undoing. She began to shake her head and her deep throaty laughter joined the sounds of everyone else.

Several minutes later, when everyone had wiped the tears from their eyes and gotten their breath back, Emily repeated her question.

"It's not the name itself but the fact that all day long, the number of times Lorelai or April has said that word, you and I, both highly intelligent people in my opinion, never understood what it meant," he explained and began chuckling again.

Emily rolled her eyes, but Richard saw that they still glittered with amusement.

"Oh, I seriously need my camera," Lorelai looked to April.

"I know where it is. I'll go get it," April said, then got up and went into the house.

"Lorelai, haven't you taken enough ridiculous pictures today?" Emily tried to keep any harshness out of her voice. She felt sure that she looked a mess and wasn't fond of photos that weren't professionally taken. "Luke, may I have some of that coffee, please?"

"Sure." Luke said, pouring her a mug of coffee and taking it around to her side of the fire.

"Come on, Mom, I promised Rory that I'd send her pictures," Lorelai replied to her mother's objection. She had promised to send her daughter the pictures, but she was also going to keep some of them herself.

"I really don't think Rory wants to see a picture of your father toasting a marshmallow," she protested.

Lorelai laughed, "Oh, trust me, that's exactly what she'd want to see a picture of."

"Well, what about those absurd photos you insisted on taking of your father and me in the grocery store?" Emily countered clearly mystified by her daughter's actions. "Why would Rory want pictures of us grocery shopping?"

"Actually, I'd like a copy of that one you took of your mother pushing the cart, if it's not too much trouble?" Richard asked.

"Sure, Dad," Lorelai answered with a smile, "no trouble at all."

"What on earth are you going to do with a photo of me pushing a grocery cart?" his wife demanded indignantly.

"I think I'll frame it for my study," he replied with a smirk.

"You'll do no such thing." She countered.

"Yes, I will," he replied. "We don't take nearly enough photos, Emily, and the ones we do have taken are formal, nothing relaxed. Lorelai, I'd like copies of all of them, the one outside The Clam Shack, the ones at the frozen banana stand, everything."

April returned with the camera and handed it to Lorelai.

Realizing that they were not going to resolve this particular disagreement right now, Emily let it go for the moment and decided Lorelai would take the pictures anyway and it wasn't worth fighting over. She would however discuss the framing of any such photos with her husband again at a later time.

Lorelai took a picture of Luke watching April toast another marshmallow then turned to her parents.

Richard dropped his hand to Emily's knee, as he toasted his marshmallow. She stiffened slightly, but as he began stroking it gently with his thumb she relaxed some. He saw Lorelai turn in their direction with the camera and eased his fingertips lightly around to the back of her knee, one of his wife's particularly ticklish spots. He felt her shudder and saw her leaning forward out of the corner of his eye. Lorelai was snapping away with her camera. Emily grabbed his wrist with both hands and tried to pull it away, unsuccessfully suppressing her giggles, her eyes crinkling beautifully. She was beaming, and he could feel his own foolishly lovesick grin.

After a few seconds, he allowed her to pull his hand away. "Richard Gilmore, I cannot believe you just did that!" she exclaimed. Richard dropped his hand back onto her leg just above her knee and squeezed gently. "Don't you even think of doing that again," she warned.

He turned and looked into her eyes "You have my word, Emily."

After a moment of silent communication, the tension eased from her muscles a bit. She tried to sneak looks at the others to see their reactions. Lorelai still held the camera and was smiling at them sweetly. Luke's face was in shadow, and April had already returned her focus to the marshmallow she was toasting.

"So, Lorelai, are you going to put some of these pictures into that album you were working on?" April asked taking her marshmallow out blowing on it to extinguish the tiny flames at the edges.

"Um… yeah… maybe," Lorelai answered trying to sound matter of fact, like there was no big deal about the album.

"What photos are those?" Emily asked Lorelai, working to keep her tone light and only sound mildly curious.

"Oh, just some pictures I've had floating around, you know kind you always say you're going to put into an album and never do," she explained with a casual wave of her hand.

"What kinds of photos, Lorelai?" Emily asked wanting to know what was important enough to her daughter to put in an album.

"Oh, there are a bunch of you in there," April quickly answered with a big smile on her face.

Emily tried to school her features, but couldn't keep from smiling a bit, her eyes glittering, "Really, like what?"

Lorelai looked momentarily stunned then plastered a smile on her face.

"Yeah, some of the three of you when Lorelai was a baby, like when you brought her home maybe and her christening I guess, one of you and Lorelai next to a snowman," April answered completely oblivious to the slightly uncomfortable shifting of her father next to her as he carefully watched for Lorelai's reaction. "One of your wedding, a graduation, some with Rory. You know, just regular family pictures."

Emily nodded slowly, "Ahh." She took a deep breath and adjusted the napkin in her lap.

Richard knew his wife wouldn't ask, "I'd like to see that album when you get it together."

"Okay, Dad," Lorelai agreed with a slight shrug as she stared down at the plate in her lap.

Knowing his daughter, she would conveniently forget, but he planned to remind her.

"Well, I'm going to call it a night," April announced as she got up. "I want to check my email and see if I can catch a few of my friends online before going to sleep."

Everyone said goodnight to April as she went into the house. Then Lorelai moved over to sit next to Luke. She leaned against his side comfortably, slipped off her sandals and pulled her feet up onto the cushion next to her.

Richard leaned back against the sofa opposite them and draped his arm across the back of the couch absently playing with the ends of Emily's hair.

"So, what's the plan for tomorrow?" Lorelai asked.

"You weren't at the beach very long today. I thought you might like to spend the day doing that," Emily suggested.

"Sounds good," Lorelai said with a yawn.

Emily shivered as her husband's fingers brushed against the back of her neck.

Richard turned to look down at her and asked, "Cold?"

"No," Emily answered then took a deep breath and stood up. "We better get all this cleaned up before Lorelai falls asleep," she gestured to her daughter who was yawning again, her eyes half closed as her head rested on Luke's shoulder.

"What? I'm up?" Lorelai replied her words slurring sleepily as she sat up.

"It's fine Lorelai. Your mother and I will take care of this. Why don't you go to bed," Richard replied as he began stacking the dishes onto the tray.

"No, it's my mess, I'll help clean it up," Lorelai said rising and started to gather all of the remains of their s'mores.

Emily, Luke and Lorelai brought all the dishes into the house as Richard made sure the fire was put out.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Emily sighed and closed her book with a low thud. Richard knew that she was preoccupied with something. She hadn't turned a page in several minutes. Perhaps not even since opening the book. Richard closed his own book and placed it on the nightstand next to him. He took off his reading glasses and put them on top of the book before turning to look at his wife. The icy blue of her pajamas highlighted her fair skin and auburn hair. Her gaze was fixed on the closed book she held in her lap and her glasses had slipped a little bit down her nose. He gently covered one of her hands with his. Startled out of her thoughts, her eyes slowly found his. "What are you thinking about?" he asked warmly as his thumb stroked along the side of her hand.

She sighed again before speaking. "I just keep replaying what April said about the album Lorelai was making. I didn't know she had those pictures, did you?"

"No," he answered simply.

Emily bit her lip considering something. Richard squeezed her hand reassuringly. "Do you think she took them with her?" she finally asked.

"It does seem the most likely possibility," he said.

Emily nodded and looked back down at the book.

The unspoken thought that their daughter had wanted to keep some memory of their family hung between them. Richard took the book from her and held out his hand for her glasses. He placed them both with his on the nightstand and turned off the lights with the switch by the bed. Then he settled down against the pillows and held out his arm. Emily immediately eased down next to him resting her head on his shoulder, her hand over his heart as he wrapped his arm around her. Squeezing her gently he kissed the top of her head. "It is a nice thought," he remarked quietly. He felt her nod her head against him and snuggle in closer. Before long both had slipped into a peaceful slumber.

* * *

**Notes:** First of all my continued thanks to everyone who posted a review since the last update: RiskaSG(x4), GilmoreGirlsnOCRock, Valerie, pjt-gg, lilienprinzessin, LorLukealways, Miss GoodManners, Mary, gilmoregirlsalwaysforever, and gilmorefanforever. I really appreciate all those who take the time to post their comments. 

Also, my continued thanks to UnaVitaSegreta, Melanie and Cira for their suggestions, ideas, and critiques as this was developed.

A note on the older pictures mentioned in this chapter, while Emily said that Lorelai destroyed all the pictures of herself as a child, we know from "Love, War and Snow" that there was a photo album with at least one baby picture. Also, I think she didn't destroy them all and there had to be negatives around somewhere for reprints.


	8. Quiche Emily

**Chapter 8**

**Quiche Emily**

The frying pay sputtered and popped as Emily used a wooden spoon to gently move around the sizzling bits of bacon. The sound of the exhaust fan whirred gently in the background. She had no idea that Richard was standing in the doorway watching her. After a few moments, he spoke. "I wondered where you disappeared to."

She glanced over her shoulder at him, "I wanted to get started on this." Turning back to the stove, she quietly added with a light laugh "besides you went back to sleep."

"Ah, well, you know how the sea air makes me tired," he replied as he walked up behind her and gently squeezed her shoulders then pressed a kiss to her temple.

"The sea air makes you something alright," she teased, "tired is just the result."

"That's not a complaint is it?" he asked sliding his hands down her arms and back up to her shoulders.

"No," she replied drawing out the word slowly as she continued to look into the sizzling frying pan.

He laughed heartily and slid his arms down around her waist. "And what may I ask are you making?" he asked happily.

"Quiche Lorraine," she answered turning down the flame under the bacon.

"Sounds delicious," he said leaning over her shoulder to look into the pan.

She shook her head. "Why don't you make yourself useful?"

"I thought I was," he replied pulling her more tightly against him.

Emily rolled her eyes. "You are incorrigible."

"Alright, I'll be your sous chef. How may I assist you?" He pressed another kiss to her temple and stepped away to pour himself a cup of coffee.

"You could grate that cheese," she suggested with a smile turning off the stove and putting the bacon pieces onto a paper towel lined plate to drain.

Richard saw the block of Swiss cheese and the grater set out on a cutting board on the island. After taking a few sips of his coffee he went to work grating the cheese surreptitiously watching his wife as she stood next to him whisking a bowl of eggs. "So, it looks like Lorelai's enjoying herself this weekend."

Emily answered "Yes," as she whisked some half-and-half to the eggs.

A few moments later he spoke again. "She seems happy."

Emily was adding some spices to the egg mixture. "She does," she agreed warily wondering where her husband was going with this.

Richard finished grating the cheese and watched her put the bacon pieces into the bottom of a pastry lined quiche pan. She'd already made pie crust. He must have slept longer than he thought. He hadn't bothered to look at the clock earlier to see what time it was. He continued with his observations, "Luke has adapted admirably to his role as a parent, don't you think?"

"From what I've seen," she agreed. She was growing more suspicious with each of her husband's statements, but she continued with the quiche sprinkling the grated cheese on top of the bacon and slowing pouring the eggs over it all.

"They get along well, the three of them. That's a good thing," he commented as he began to wash his hands.

"It is," she agreed as she put the quiche in the oven and set the timer. Then she turned looked at her husband. His expression was completely unreadable. "Richard where are you going with this?" she asked as she moved to the sink and washed her hands.

"I'm just saying that I think Lorelai and Luke seem very happy together. I expect that they'll be announcing their intention to marry soon and…"

Emily picked up a sea green tea towel and began drying her hands. "She's only been divorced from Christopher for two months. Don't you think that's a bit premature?"

"Not necessarily. They've known each other for years and were engaged once already. I would think they'd be eager to get on with their lives," he reasoned as Emily emptied the cold coffee out of her cup and refilled it. "I think we should be prepared for them to marry… soon."

Emily immediately looked up at him and questioned, "You know something, don't you? Oh my God, she's not planning to elope again, is she?"

Lorelai had smelled coffee the moment she opened the bedroom door and decided to have a cup before showering. Barefoot, in cloud printed pajama pants and a sky blue tank top she padded quietly across the living room to the kitchen, but stopped when she heard her mother's voice and something about eloping.

"Emily, relax, I don't know any such thing" he assured her. "I just think we should be… well… prepared for whatever they decide."

"I just don't want to see her hurt again," Emily explained.

Lorelai heard Luke come out of the bathroom. She quickly turned around and motioned for him to be quiet. He walked up to her and whispered, "You're eavesdropping." Lorelai quietly shushed him.

"Neither do I and I don't think Luke would ever intentionally hurt her," Richard defended the man he had come to respect over the years.

"Well, of course he wouldn't," Emily quickly dismissed the idea, "that's not the point."

"Then what is the point?" he asked.

Emily looked up at her husband and shrugged with a broad gesture of her free hand. "Don't ask me. You're the one that started this conversation."

Richard chuckled, "So you are in favor of Lorelai and Luke getting married?"

"I thought we both were," she replied in bewilderment.

He smiled and nodded his head, "So that's settled then."

Emily rolled her eyes the at absurdity of the conversation they'd just had and took a sip of coffee.

Thinking that either of her parents could walk out of the kitchen at any moment, Lorelai quickly shuffled backwards pulling Luke along by the back of his shirt. She stopped in the middle of the living room.

"Wow," Lorelai slowly pronounced the word her voice a hushed whisper. She was still trying to process what she had heard.

"Wow, what?" Luke whispered in confusion.

"They're okay with this, with us," she replied gesturing between them, "they're really okay with it."

"And…" Luke asked.

Lorelai smiled broadly. "No and…"

"No and?" he repeated shaking his head.

"No, no and. That's all."

Luke looked completely baffled. Lorelai kissed him quickly on the cheek and walked toward the kitchen. "Good morning," she greeted her parents with a broad grin.

"Good morning," both answered as Lorelai headed for the coffee pot.

* * *

**Notes: **Thank you to everyone who has posted a review since my last update: RiskaSG, LorLukealways, ejl1, J.Stone, Emily-RichardFan, gilmorefanforever, UnaVitaSegreta, pjt-gg, Mary, Valerie, Miss GoodManners, and Stranger than Friction. I really love hearing what you each think of the story as it progresses. 


	9. Beach Blanket Bingo

**Chapter 9**

**Beach Blanket Bingo**

"Geez, Mom, we're only going like fifty yards. Do we really need all this stuff?" Lorelai gestured to the growing pile on the patio table that already included beach blankets, towels, several large tote bags, and two beach umbrellas. Just as she asked the question her father and Luke were rounding the corner of the house carrying four fancy wooden folding chairs.

"You will thank me later, Lorelai," Emily answered as she went back into the house.

"So all set?" Luke asked leaning the chairs against the table.

"No, I think my mother went back in for the refrigerator, or possibly the couch. I can't be sure which," Lorelai replied with a huff.

Luke chuckled quietly at Lorelai's impatience. "Why don't you just grab some stuff and head down to the beach?"

"And disrupt the system? No way. I'd hear about it all day." She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at the door her mother had disappeared through tapping her foot.

Emily emerged from the house carrying a hammer and large covered basket. "Okay, stop dawdling. Let's go," she instructed as she placed the hammer into a beach bag.

Luke leaned in close to Lorelai's ear and whispered, "Why do we need a hammer?"

"Don't try to figure it out, just grab as much stuff as you can carry and let's go," she answered quickly.

Lorelai and April, each with armfuls of towels and tote bags over their shoulders, headed down the stairs with Luke carrying the chairs, two in each hand. Emily followed, the blankets draped over one arm and holding the large picnic basket. Richard lifted the beach umbrellas up onto his shoulder picked up two folding tables and brought up the rear.

Within twenty minutes they were encamped on the beach under Emily's direction. Beneath each giant hunter green beach umbrella were placed two folding wooden lounge chairs separated by a low table. The chairs and tables were oak, the seats hunter green canvas that matched the umbrellas. Two large beach blankets of hunter green and burgundy plaid covered the sand in front of the chairs, the corners secured to the ground with built in stakes.

Emily sat down on the edge of one of the chairs facing everyone. She reached into the basket, extracted five glasses, and set them out on the table next to her.

Mesmerized by what she was doing, Lorelai took a seat under the second umbrella and watched her mother. Luke sat on the chair next to her and April plopped down on the blanket at their feet.

Inside one of the large totes, which turned out to be an insulated cooler, Emily unzipped a plastic bag filled with ice. Using the ice tongs that she produced from the basket, she placed several cubes of ice in each glass. Next, she poured cherry limeade into the glasses leaving room in four and filling a fifth to the top. "Here you are, April" she said handing her the last glass.

"Thank you," April replied.

She again reached into the basket and pulled out two silver flasks. Smiling she asked "So, rum or vodka?" Holding up each in turn.

Lorelai shook her head in disbelief. "What no tequila?"

Emily's hands dropped down. "Oh, I didn't know you'd want tequila. Richard, could you go back –"

"No, Mom, rum is fine," Lorelai interrupted.

"Are you sure? Your father could go back and get the tequila if you'd prefer that," Emily offered.

"No, Mom, I was kidding really. This is great," she gestured around her to the set up on the beach. "If you've got a blender in there somewhere, I may have to start calling you MacGyver."

"Don't be silly. Where would we plug it in?" Emily asked incredulously as she added rum to the drinks and passed them out.

"Well you could run a cord from the house," Luke offered under his breath. Only Lorelai heard him. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye and laughed quietly.

"You know, I believe I saw a battery operated blender in the Sharper Image catalogue. We should look into that. Might come in handy," Richard suggested as he sat down on the chair next to Emily.

"Guys, it was a joke, really," Lorelai explained.

"Still, it is a good idea," Richard continued to mull it over as he took a sip of his drink.

From behind her large sunglasses, Emily watched those that had gone down to the water. She had a book open at chest level, but so far hadn't read a word. April and Lorelai had been the first into the waves. April swam back and forth a short distance out occasionally swimming by Lorelai and the two would splash at each other playfully. Lorelai it seemed preferred to stay about waist deep, probably so that she could easily taunt Luke who had so far refused to get wet.

Richard watched his wife as she watched the others. She looked gorgeous in her big floppy black hat and matching cover up. She had removed her sandals and the dark red of her toe nail polish gleamed in the sun, the only splash of color she wore besides her lipstick. He reached out and took her hand, smiling when she turned to look at him. "Enjoying yourself?"

"Mmm hmm," came her throaty reply. "You?"

"I think I might go down and see how the water is? Care to join me?" he asked hopefully.

"No, you go ahead, but put on sunscreen first, you know how easily you burn," she warned knowing that he'd be out there splashing around with Lorelai in no time and spend longer in the sun that he planned. Releasing his hand she reached into her beach bag and took out the tube of lotion. She held it out to him.

Richard removed his button up sports shirt and began applying the lotion to his arms and chest. Then he turned to his wife, a mischievous grin on his face. "Care to help me, my dear?"

"Come here," she answered hiding her smile with an air of annoyance. She put her book aside and shifted her legs over so that he could sit down on her chair. Picking up the lotion she applied some to her hands and began smoothing it over her husband's broad shoulders and back.

Lorelai had grown tired of trying to cajole Luke into the water and decided that the direct approach would be more effective. She waded out of the water and over to where he stood. "Come on, Luke, I'm not asking you to swim the English Channel here, just wade in. Up to your knees is fine." She grabbed his hand and pulled. As she did so her eyes landed on her parents. "Oh, man," she groaned quickly covering her eyes with her free hand.

"What's the big deal?" Luke asked looking back up the beach at the elder Gilmores. "Hey, you didn't offer to rub suntan lotion on my back."

"You haven't taken your shirt off yet," she grumbled, "unlike my father."

"You expect him to swim in his clothes?" Luke commented.

"No," she rolled her eyes, "I wasn't really expecting him to swim at all, honestly." By this time Richard was walking up to them. "Hey, Dad," she greeted him overenthusiastically.

"Lorelai, Luke," he replied walking past them and into the water up to his knees. "Ah, invigorating, don't you think?"

"Yeah, sure," Lorelai agreed.

Richard walked a bit deeper into the water and turned back to his daughter. "Are you coming back in?"

"Just trying to persuade Luke here to join us," she answered giving Luke a 'help me here' look.

"Fine, but no splashing." Luke pulled his tee-shirt off and tossed it a good way up the beach far from the waves and allowed Lorelai to pull him into the water.

April swam up to them, "Hey, Dad, you're in the water." She sounded surprised.

"Yeah," Luke answered brusquely. "It's cold."

"It is at first, but if you move around you warm up," April said.

Lorelai moved behind Luke and winked at April, then nodded and both began splashing him mercilessly. At first he stood there in shock, thinking that they'd stop after a moment. When they didn't he started to splash back, but they had him covered no matter which way he turned. Richard backed a bit away and watched the three of them from a safe distance.

"This isn't fair. It's two against one," he yelled out.

Lorelai yelled back, "Yeah… well… get used to it buddy."

Luke lunged for April and caught her around the waist. Lorelai kept splashing him. He tossed April off to the side and in the same movement got close enough to Lorelai to grab her. April stopped splashing and laughed as he pinned Lorelai's arms to her sides in a bear hug from behind. Then abruptly he changed his hold and picked her up then dunked her into the water. She came up sputtering and splashing, her hair hanging in her face. Figuring there was no way to stay dry anymore, Luke just dunked himself under the water and stood back up.

Richard and April were standing off to the side laughing uproariously.

"Lookin' awfully dry there, Dad," Lorelai brushed the hair off her face with a wicked gleam in her eye and began splashing her father who laughed even harder. Soon everyone had water running off of their faces and was trying to catch their breath.

After a few minutes, April went back to happily swimming around and body surfing in the waves. Lorelai and Richard provided color commentary for each other. Luke decided that it was good for Lorelai to spend a little time enjoying her father's company, so he gradually edged away from them and out of the water.

Lorelai noticed him backing slowly away. "Where are you going?"

"Just going to take a little break," he replied. "I'll be back, I promise."

"Okay," Lorelai shrugged.

"Oh look at that form. Good job, April!" Richard called out and Lorelai's attention was drawn away from Luke's departure.

"So, do you and Mom spend much time on the beach when you're here?" Lorelai asked quietly.

"Some," Richard answered. "I even manage occasionally to persuade her to get into the water, but she prefers to swim in the pool."

Lorelai nodded. "Sounds like Mom." She glanced up the sloping sand at her mother then back out across the waves.

Back on the beach Luke picked up his shirt and walked up the slight incline to the area with the chairs and umbrellas.

"Would you like something to drink?" Emily asked as he picked up a towel and ran it over his face and hair.

"No thanks," he answered.

"There's beer, sodas, water," she offered.

"Okay, water would be nice," Luke replied putting the towel over on a chair and sitting down. Emily handed him an ice cold bottle of water. "Thanks. Wow, those coolers you've got really work. I'll have to look into getting a couple of those."

"They are nice," Emily replied. "I can give Lorelai the catalogue where I found them."

"Thanks. That would be great." Luke answered and took a sip of his water.

They sat quietly watching the others for a few minutes then Emily broke the silence still looking out at the three in surf. "Your daughter's a very special young lady."

"Thank you," Luke answered sincerely.

"You seem to be doing a very good job with her," Emily continued.

"Well, I watched Lorelai with Rory for a lot of years," he replied. "She's a terrific parent."

"Yes, she is," Emily replied with a smile and a note of regret. She turned to look at him now, and pushed her sunglasses up on top of her head. "She cares for you a great deal, always has I think"

"Yes ma'am," he answered, "I love her a great deal too."

"I can see that." Emily nodded and glanced out at where Lorelai and Richard were standing then back at the man next to her. "I've been very impressed with how you've taken care of my daughter and granddaughter over the years."

"I just did what anyone would do," Luke said with a shrug as he looked out at the ocean.

"No, it's not what anyone would do," she stated, an edge of some deeper emotion creeping into her voice. "Don't sell yourself short, Luke."

He could see she was waiting for an acknowledgement of some sort. "I'll try not to."

Emily turned toward the water and slipped her sunglasses back down over her eyes. "Just keep taking care of her. I know that she can take care of herself if she has to, and she may tell you she doesn't want to be taken care of, but she does."

Luke looked out at Lorelai still standing in the water with her father. "I know… and I will."

He saw Emily nod out of the corner of his eye.

Down in the water Lorelai was stealing looks back at her mother and Luke. She edged closer to her father as the waves lapped against her thighs. "So what do you think they're talking about?"

Richard glanced back at his wife and Luke. "I don't know, but I wouldn't worry."

"I'm not worried," Lorelai answered a little defensively, "well… not a lot."

"Your mother and I have grown to respect and appreciate him quite a bit these past few years. I know that on several occasions he has dropped everything to be there for you and Rory," he saw Lorelai start to smile, "and he makes you happy. As long as he treats you well and continues to make you happy, really that's all your mother and I want for you."

"Wow… um" Lorelai paused and took a deep breath looking up at her father. "Thank you Dad. That really means a lot."

"Well that and maybe a few more grandchildren," Richard added teasingly, "but that's really up to you."

"Well gee, thanks for leaving that last part up to us," Lorelai replied with a bit of forced laughter.

April swam over to them then stood up in the water. "I think I'm going to take a break for a while. Getting a bit waterlogged here," she said holding up her pruny hands.

"I agree," Richard replied. "Besides, I'd say it's about lunch time. Shall we see what our options are?"

April nodded and walked toward the beach.

"If you're talkin' food, you know I'm in. Know what Mom's got in those coolers?"

"No," he answered, "but I say it's time we find out."

"Sounds good to me," Lorelai and Richard walked up to the beach following April.

After lunch everyone was happy to just lounge on the beach. Richard closed his eyes but swore he wasn't sleeping. Emily finally began to read a bit of her book. April was also reading sprawled comfortably on the blanket in front of her father who made no pretence about taking a nap. He had his baseball cap over his face and was out like a light. Lorelai thumbed through a few magazines until she got bored. Then she flipped her head down to the foot of her chair and laid on her stomach so she could whisper to April.

April got up, took two of the empty water bottles down to the ocean and filled them. When she came back she handed one to Lorelai. Emily watched secretly while still pretending to read her book. Lorelai motioned for April to walk to the outside of Luke's chair, then to pour the water on his stomach. Luke bolted up into a sitting position yelling out. Lorelai quickly caught him from the side, right in the face. Water splashed into his open mouth. He turned and started to rise out of his chair at Lorelai when April sprayed water at the back of his head. He whirled around and April took off down the beach, Luke in hot pursuit. Lorelai laughed uproariously, and Emily chuckled. Lorelai grabbed for her camera and was snapping pictures of Luke and April.

Richard was roused by the commotion and saw the tail end of what had transpired. With attention diverted elsewhere, he reached over and extracted a couple of melting ice cubes from the bottom of his glass. He leaned slowly forward. Emily sat up to watch as Luke caught April and headed for the water. He walked chest deep plunging the struggling girl in his arms under the waves. Richard seized the opportunity and dropped the handful of ice cubes down his wife's back.

Emily leapt from her chair, with a shriek. Shaking her loose cover-up as the ice fell onto the sand next to her chair. She was still holding her book in one hand and used it to whack Richard squarely in the chest.

Lorelai turned camera in hand and kept taking pictures silently thanking God for auto focus.

"How could you do that?" she demanded.

Richard quickly stood up next to her and took hold of the book. He smiled down at her rakishly. "You looked a bit warm and I thought I'd cool you off."

"I'll show you cooling off," she picked up her glass of ice water and Richard quickly backed away from her his hands up in surrender. After several paces, he turned and ambled down to the water. "Honestly," Emily muttered to herself as she put the glass back on the table and sat down with her book.

After her father had walked away Lorelai caught the small smile that played at the corners of her mother's mouth as she looked down shaking her head.

Once things settled down, Lorelai started to look through the pictures she had just shot and realized that her mother had taken several from the shore while the rest of them had been in the water earlier. She'd even used the telephoto lens and captured some really great action shots of the water fight.

"So, Mom, did you have any problems with the camera?" she asked with a knowing grin as though she had caught her mother at something she wasn't supposed to do.

"What?" Emily asked putting her book down across her stomach. She glanced over at Lorelai and saw that she was looking at the camera. "No, it was pretty straight forward. I didn't think you'd mind."

"I don't mind at all," Lorelai answered putting the camera back down. "I'm glad you got these. They're great."

"You looked like you were having fun," Emily said with a shrug as then reopened up her book.

"You could have come down and joined us," Lorelai said in what she hoped was a casual way.

"Oh, I'm fine here with my book," Emily answered.

"Well, yeah… but you could come down and just put your feet in or something," Lorelai suggested. Her mother didn't reply, and actually looked like she might be considering the idea. It had become something of a challenge for Lorelai now. She stood up and got two clean towels from the pile on the blanket at the foot of her mother's chair. "Come on, Mom… just for a few minutes… just to stick your feet in."

Emily put down her book and looked up at her daughter who promptly stuck out her bottom lip in a pout. "Oh, all right, but stop that silly pouting. You're not four years old."

Lorelai immediately smiled in triumph and the two walked toward the surf. Richard and Luke were standing at the very edge of the waves watching April swim. Lorelai strolled up behind Luke and wrapped her arms around his waist from behind resting her chin on his shoulder. His hands covered hers and he gave her a quiet "hey," which she echoed.

Richard turned and was surprised to see Emily standing a few feet behind him just beyond the water line. He gave her a smile and held out his hand which she took allowing him to gently pull her next to him the waves washing softly across their bare feet. When she was closer, Richard let go of her hand and draped his arm across her shoulders. Lorelai glanced sideways at her parents and squeezed her arms around Luke.

The four stood watching the waves breaking off shore and April swimming among them. After enjoying the calm sound of the waves for a while, they noticed the tide was slowly coming in. The water was halfway up to their knees.

Lorelai reluctantly spoke, her voice soft as she tried to hold on to the calm easy feeling that had come over her. "You know… if you were serious about going to that Seaside Festival April mentioned this morning, we should probably pack up soon."

"Yeah," Luke agreed with a sigh. "We probably should," but neither made any effort to move quite yet except to reposition their feet as the sand shifted out from under them with the waves.

* * *

**Notes: **Thank you to everyone that posted a review sinice my last update: GilmoreGirlsnOCRock, RiskaSG, lilienprinzessin, pjt-gg, Emily-RichardFan, ace5203, Mary, LorLukealways, Miss GoodManners, HippieWinterSweet, UnaVitaSegreta, Stranger than Friction, gilmorefanforever, J.Stone, javajunkishness, gilmoregirlsalwaysforever, and mudgielovesgilmoregirls. It means a lot to know that you are all enjoying the story. 


	10. Moon Dance

**Chapter 10**

**Moon Dance**

Emily smiled when she heard the music on the stereo change from classical to the crooning of Dean Martin. Richard had disappeared from the kitchen a few moments ago and now she knew why. She put the last of their dinner dishes in the dishwasher and closed the machine deciding not to run it until later. After returning from the beach, Lorelai, Luke and April had left for the annual Seaside Summer Festival. She and Richard had stayed at home claiming that they were tired, which was true, but they also wanted to give the three some time together. They'd shared a simple meal of spaghetti, salad and French bread. After spending the day in the sun neither had really wanted anything more elaborate.

She put away the clean pots and pans that they'd used to prepare dinner and began to hum along to the music while wiping down the marble counter tops. Richard stood in the doorway watching her. Her back was to him and he was surprised when she spoke without turning around. "You know I hate it when you do that."

"I do, and you know that I am helplessly transfixed by your beauty," he replied, positively oozing charm.

"Oh please," she groaned as she turned on the water and washed her hands.

Richard crossed the kitchen and placed his arms around her waist and began swaying to the music. Emily reached for a towel to dry her hands and he turned her around and pulled her into a dance hold, the towel still held in her hand at his shoulder.

"This is absurd," Emily protested lightly then began to laugh when he maneuvered them around the island and into a more open area of the kitchen with a flourish.

The song changed to a more up tempo swing number. Richard released her, keeping hold of her hand. He took the towel from her and tossed it on the island as he led her outside to the patio, turning off the kitchen light as he went by.

She smiled warmly up at him as he again took her in his arms. "I swear I don't know what to make of you sometimes."

"I like to keep you on your toes, my dear. Wouldn't want to become boring," he explained spinning her out and back in. He dipped her and planted a kiss on her nose.

The tune changed again, and the opening strains of _Unforgettable_ surrounded them. Richard drew her in close. Her hand resting more on his chest than his shoulder, they swayed together to the music.

Lorelai unlocked the front door with the key her parents had given her earlier and she entered the house followed by Luke and April. "It's dark in here. They couldn't have gone to bed already, could they?" she asked moving into the living room.

"Do you think they'd leave the stereo on?" Luke observed.

"I don't think so," Lorelai replied with a shrug. "Maybe they're outside."

"Well, I'm gonna try to finish the chapter I started earlier," April said. "Good night."

"Night, kiddo," Lorelai replied then headed across the room to the French doors.

"Night," Luke patted April on the head and she rolled her eyes up at him then laughed as she went to her room.

Luke turned to follow Lorelai and noticed that she'd stopped a few steps away from the glass doors. "What's up?" he asked approaching her from behind.

"That," Lorelai pointed out onto the patio.

The only light outside came from the pool and a few citronella candles that were scattered around. Emily and Richard were dancing in the open area on the patio between the dining table and the seating area. "Ahhh," Luke murmured in her ear as he looked over her shoulder. "It's kinda sweet, don't you think?"

Lorelai sighed and leaned back against him watching her parents. They were in a world unto themselves. Sure, they'd had their ups and downs over the years, but they were a constant. Even for that time that they'd split up it was easy to see how deeply they loved each other. They were just too stubborn to admit it for a time. "Think we'll be like that in twenty years?" she asked quietly.

They watched as Richard leaned down and tenderly kissed Emily. "I sure hope so," Luke answered with a bit of a low chuckle.

Lorelai elbowed him lightly in the stomach and he wrapped his arms around her. "I mean, do you think we'll have what they have? I want that for us Luke. I want to know that you're always going to be there, that we're always going to be there, for the rest of our lives."

"I want that too." He replied softly and pressed a kiss to her jaw. Emily and Richard's embrace grew more passionate and she slid her arms around his neck. From this angle they couldn't see where his hands were, but from the way things looked that was probably a good thing. "Ah… you think maybe we should let them know we're here, or you know… find something else to do maybe?"

"Oh yeah," Lorelai agreed completely. She took his hand and led him into the kitchen turning on the light as she entered the room, hoping that her parents would notice and realize that they weren't alone anymore.

"You want some tea?" Luke asked reaching for the kettle that was on the back of the stove.

"Sure, thanks," Lorelai answered poking around in the kitchen cabinets. "There has to be something in here to eat."

"Three corn dogs, two snow cones, a pretzel and a cinnamon roll," Luke grumbled filling the kettle with water and shaking his head.

"You cannot still be talking about what I ate tonight," she replied opening the refrigerator and poking around. "I've been eating healthy all weekend."

Luke set the kettle on the burner and turned on the flame. "Yeah, sure you have," he clearly didn't believe a word he was saying.

Lorelai closed the refrigerator and opened the freezer; she rooted around moving things and looking behind them. All of a sudden, she called out, "Score!" A huge grin on her face she plopped a square white plastic box down on the island, whipped the lid off and held up a mini-cream puff. Quickly she popped the cream puff into her mouth. "Mmmm, want one?" she held the box out to Luke and spoke with her mouth full.

"They're frozen," he answered.

She nodded enthusiastically, "I know, just like a creamsicle."

Outside, Richard and Emily reluctantly ended their passionate kiss, both short of breath. A new song began playing and Emily leaned back to look up at her husband, a grin spreading across her face and lighting up her eyes when she recognized it.

Richard grinned in return, pleased that his musical selections were having the desired effect. "You used to sing this song all the time when we first started dating."

She looked down at her hands where they rested on his chest and fidgeted with the buttons on his shirt. "I did not."

"Oh yes, you did," he said with a chuckle nodding his head for emphasis. He rocked them back and forth slowly but in tempo music. Emily leaned her cheek against his chest, closed her eyes and began to hum softly.

Lorelai had started dancing around the kitchen and singing, "Is it in his face? Oh no, that's just his charm." She danced over and got out a plate. "In his warm embrace? Oh no, that's just his arms." She took cream puffs out of the container and put them on the plate. "If you wanna know if he loves you so, it's in his kiss."

Quietly Emily's humming turned into the actual words and Richard took hold of her hand once again dancing to the music. He noticed the light on in the kitchen but thought it best not to call Emily's attention to it just yet.

The kettle whistled, and Lorelai walked over and looked out the glass door of the kitchen. "Well, at least they've gone back to dancing," she told Luke. She opened the door; her father twirled her mother out and back ending up behind her. Lorelai called out, "Hey, Fred, Ginger, you guys want some tea?"

Richard looked back over his shoulder. "Sounds great," he answered, "bring it out here." Emily momentarily froze at the sound of her daughter's voice, but Richard kept dancing so she was forced into movement again.

Lorelai closed the door and began to put the creampuffs and some plates on a tray again singing the lyrics to the song, "Oh, Oh, Oh, hug him squeeze him tight to find out what you want to know." She got out some napkins and planted a kiss on Luke's cheek as she passed him. "If it's love, if it really is, it's there in his kiss."

Richard spun Emily around to face him. "I've always enjoyed the sentiment of this song." Emily rolled her eyes and he planted a kiss on the top of her head.

Lorelai walked out of the kitchen door with the tray. "Look what else I found," she said heading over to the sitting area. The fire pit was closed, so she put the tray down in the middle of the table. Luke followed carrying cream and sugar. "I wasn't sure what you like in your tea," he explained taking a seat next to Lorelai on the far sofa.

Richard led Emily over to the sitting area by the hand and they seated themselves on the sofa facing Luke and Lorelai. Richard picked up two mugs of tea and handed one to his wife. "Oh, look, the creampuffs" he commented seeing Lorelai had put them on the tray. "I forgot we bought those."

"Well, someone didn't," Lorelai said with a knowing grin, "the container was only two-thirds full."

"Really," Richard replied with a glance at his wife as he picked up a plate and placed several creampuffs on it. He took a couple of napkins and handed one to Emily who draped it across her lap. He held his plate out to her and offered her a creampuff.

"They're still frozen," Emily remarked looking at the tiny creampuff between her thumb and forefinger.

"Ooh, but they're good that way," Lorelai replied popping one into her mouth.

Richard followed Lorelai's example. "Something like a frozen custard filled pastry."

Emily shrugged and took a bite of hers. It was still frozen, but starting to soften. She ate the other half and picked up a second one.

Richard handed Emily the plate and leaned back placing his arm behind her across the back of the couch. Emily stifled a yawn and settled back against Richard's side. Then she slipped off her shoes and pulled her feet up on the sofa next to her balancing the plate of creampuffs on the side of her knee and keeping one hand on it. Richard's arm dropped around her shoulders and he rested his hand on her upper arm.

Lorelai had already eaten several creampuffs inside so she picked up her tea and leaned back, unconsciously mimicking her mother's position as she leaned against Luke's shoulder.

"So do you have any other plans before April leaves for New Mexico?" Emily asked.

"Nothing special, maybe a little shopping, whatever she needs for school," Luke answered. "That's about it."

"We're very happy that you were able to spend some of your time together, here with us," said Richard.

"Yes we are," Emily agreed.

"I know April's had a ball, and I really enjoyed it to," said Luke. "Thank you again for your hospitality."

"You're welcome anytime," Richard offered.

Conversation died down for a few moments as everyone sipped their tea and Richard finished off his last couple of creampuffs. He placed the plate on the coffee table with his free hand then sank back into the cushions and squeezed Emily's shoulders.

Lorelai turned to Luke and the two seemed to be holding a silent conversation, she asking a question of some sort and he answering with a partial shrug and a nod. "So Mom, Dad…" Both parents perked up slightly, her voice held the feeling that she was about to make some sort of announcement. "We haven't completely decided this yet, so it could still change, but Luke and I were thinking that we might get married at the end of the year… Sometime between Christmas and New Year's or maybe even on New Year's, we're not sure yet."

"That's wonderful," Richard remarked and gave Emily a happy squeeze.

"Yes, wonderful," Emily echoed quickly.

Richard slowly rose to his feet and rounded the table and holding out his hand to Luke, "Congratulations."

The younger man stood and accepted the handshake. "Thank you, sir."

Richard then leaned down and kissed his daughter on the forehead. "Lorelai, this is wonderful."

She looked up at her father in surprise and quietly replied, "Thanks, Dad." Then she looked over at her mother who had remained sitting on the couch.

"I'm very happy for you, Lorelai," Emily said seriously. She wanted her daughter to be married very much. She wanted her happily married and this man made her happy. Still there was something about the thought of Lorelai getting married that made her a little bit sad. Regret that the wedding she'd planned since learning that her baby had been a girl would never be realized. She tried her best to smile warmly. "You too Luke, I know you'll be very happy together." Richard resumed his seat next to Emily, pulling her back against him tightly.

Lorelai felt her mother's sadness and thought she knew the cause. "You know, Mom, I'm going to need help pulling everything together in just four months. I'd really like your input. I don't know about Russian, but it'll be a winter wedding, that's for sure."

Emily visibly brightened. "You know I'll do anything I can to help. You just have to ask."

"I will," Lorelai smiled happily. "I did kind of like that sleigh idea of yours."

"Sleigh?" Luke asked cocking his head to the side.

"What, I love sleighs," Lorelai said defensively.

"Sure, yeah, sleighs are great," Luke said nodding his head.

"Hey," Lorelai swatted his chest. "Do not mock the sleigh, buster"

Across from them Richard and Emily shared a tender smile then she dropped her head onto her husband's shoulder as they quietly watched Luke and Lorelai continue to bicker playfully over whether or not there had been actual mocking and if the situation had warranted physical violence.

* * *

**Notes: **As this story nears it's conclusion, I want to pause and thank **UnaVitaSegreta**, and **Melanie** again for all their help and support in writing this entire story. Both ladies made several wonderful suggestions during the development of this story, but **Melanie **made one very important suggestion that lead to half of this chapter. So this is dedicated to you **Melanie.**

Also continued thanks to all those who have posted reviews since the last update: J.Stone, GilmoreGirlsnOCRock, natalie492, javajunkishness, Mary, pjt-gg, Emily-RichardFan, LorLukealways, gilmorefanforever, Valerie, RiskaSG, Miss GoodManners, morzsa, and Apple705. I really appreciate all of you who take the time to post your thoughts and let me know you're reading and enjoying the story.


	11. I'm So Glad We Had This Time Together

**Chapter 11**

**I'm So Glad We Had This Time Together…**

Emily breezed out of the bathroom, her sheer cobalt blue robe sweeping out behind her. Richard's eyes were glued to her every movement as she slipped off the robe and laid it across the foot of the bed. The matching satin night gown she whore ended a few inches above her knees, the v-neck held up with wide straps.

Emily shut off the lamp on her nightstand and climbed into bed, immediately moving to lie next to her husband. She rested her head on his shoulder and reached across his chest tracing patterns gently with her fingertips along his collar bone.

Richard kissed the top of her head and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "You certainly seem to be in a good mood tonight."

"Mmm," she murmured as she turned her head up and kissed the underside of his chin and her finger traced a line from his shoulder to the top button of his pajamas. Just as she circled her finger around the button there was a knock at the door.

"Yes," Richard called out as Emily turned her face toward his chest and sighed.

"Um… it's Lorelai," she answered from the outside of the door.

Emily quickly moved to sit up on her side of the bed and pulled the covers up to her chest.

"Come in," Richard called out.

Lorelai opened the door and walked hesitantly into the bedroom. She stopped a few feet from the bed fidgeting. "I um… well… I just really wanted to thank you both for this weekend."

"We're very happy to have you here," Richard replied, "Luke and April too."

Lorelai smiled broadly. "And thank you for that too, it really means a lot to me that you both actually feel that way… that you want to get to know Luke and April better and include them."

"Of course we want to include them. They're going to be family, Lorelai. You know how important that is," Emily explained.

"I do, Mom, I do," Lorelai answered with a nod, "Well, anyway… I just wanted to tell you that this weekend has meant a lot to me… and well… that's about all." She stood there uneasily for another moment, took a step backwards then turned toward the door.

"Lorelai," at the sound of her mother's voice she looked back to them. "It has meant a lot to us too."

"Yes, it has," Richard added.

Lorelai gave her parents a tender smile and took a deep breath as she forced down all the emotions of the moment. "Night."

"Good night," responded both Emily and Richard at the same time, Lorelai turned and left.

Richard looked over at his wife. She was still gazing at the door that their daughter had just gone through. Her expression was a bit melancholy. He reached behind her, draped his arm across her shoulders pulling her against him and kissed the top of her head. "What is it?" he asked quietly.

Emily looked down at her hands and fussed with the top of the sheet, smoothing it back over the edge of the comforter.

"Everything seems to be going well," he said, puzzled at her mood change.

Emily transferred her gaze from the blankets up to him barley moving the angle of her head. She shrugged and took a breath. "That's just it… I don't know… maybe I'm waiting for something to go wrong. It always seems to."

He brought his free hand up to her face gently angling it towards him. "Emily… don't borrow trouble." He kissed her forehead. "We've come a long way, all three of us. Maybe it's time to let go and stop worrying about what will happen next."

She sighed. "You know I can't stop worrying." She took a moment to look into his eyes trying to soak up the strength and the certainty he seemed to exude.

He smoothed his thumb over her cheekbone then down across her jaw. "I know, but you can stop worrying so much, just see how things go for a while." He gave her an encouraging smile.

She smiled back at him. "I'll try."

"That's all I ever ask." He brought his thumb up to trace over her lips and her smile grew wider. "Now, I believe you were saying something before we were interrupted."

"I wasn't saying anything and you know it," she replied with a raised eyebrow.

"Well then, why don't you remind me exactly what you were doing," he suggested leaning closer and grazing her lips with a soft kiss.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

The four adults lingered over coffee, or tea in Luke's case, while April swam laps in the pool one last time before they had to drive back to Stars Hollow. The house phone began ringing and Richard went inside to answer it.

"So when are you guys heading back to Hartford?" Lorelai asked.

Emily shrugged, "Probably on Wednesday."

Richard returned to the patio, speaking into the cordless phone, "Well, Obama has certainly backed himself into a corner on that point, hasn't he? What was the spin like in the room?"

"Is that Rory?" Emily asked. He nodded in response.

"It must be fascinating to have a front row seat as it were. I really enjoyed your last series of articles, very insightful," Richard continued in his conversation, laughed at something Rory said and turned to his wife who was waiting not so patiently for her turn to speak. "Well, I know your Grandmother would like to say hello. I can't wait to read your take on this morning's debate." He passed the phone to Emily.

"Rory, hello," Emily greeted her granddaughter cheerfuly. "Yes, it has been a very enjoyable weekend, the only thing missing was you… yes, perhaps next time."

"So, Dad, what do you guys do with the house during the rest of the year?" Lorelai asked.

"Oh, we close it up," he explained. "There's a caretaker that comes by and checks on the property and a security service. I suppose we've got a month or so until the season ends."

"It's kinda sad to think of this big house just sitting empty nine months out of the year," Lorelai said with a sigh as she looked out at the ocean.

Richard shrugged and replied matter-of-factly, "Well, it's a beach house. That's what one does with a beach house."

"True," Lorelai sighed again.

"Lorelai, Rory would like to talk to you," Emily said handing her the phone.

"Hey, my little Helen Thomas, how are you? Win any Pulitzers lately?" Lorelai teased. "Yeah I watched the debate this morning, or you know, at least until I got bored. Don't you think they should be starting to thin the herd a little? I mean they introduced that one poor guy and actually said he had no registered support in the polls. That's just harsh." Her expression grew tender as she stole a sideways glance at her mother. "Yeah, it's been really good." Her smile turned into a mischievous grin. "Yes I have pictures, but some require a bit of an explanation," she saw her mother eyeing her warily out of the corner of her eye. "We'll talk later. Love you too, babe. Bye."

April climbed out of the pool and wrapped a towel around herself. She padded over to the table and put on the glasses her father was holding out to her.

"I saw a real improvement in those flip turns," Richard complimented with a smile.

"Yeah, it felt awkward at first, but it got easier. Thanks again," she said picking up a glass of orange juice.

"Glad to be of help," Richard replied.

Luke patted her on the shoulder. "Car's all loaded. As soon as you get changed we'll hit the road, okay?"

"Okay, hint taken, I'm going." She smiled at her father and went inside to get dressed.

A short time later Richard and Emily stood in front of the house, his arm draped across her shoulders. April climbed into the back of the Jeep while Lorelai held the seat forward for her. Calling over to her mother and father, "So, see you Friday?"

"Friday," Emily answered, "and don't be late."

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Mom, when am I ever… well, okay, we won't be late." She climbed into the Jeep and unzipped the window to wave at her parents.

They waved back, Richard calling out, "Drive safely," as the Jeep pulled away. He tightened his hold on Emily drawing her against his side. Leaning down he pressed a kiss to her temple and said, "So, now that they're gone, how about joining me for a dip in the pool?"

She smiled up at him. "That sounds nice."

He raised an eyebrow and looked at her admiringly, "I was thinking maybe we could skinny dip."

Her eyes widened in surprise. "In broad daylight? Are you crazy? Besides, the cleaning woman will be here any minute."

His face fell as he nodded in understanding. "Ah, forgot about her."

Emily laughed at his disappointed expression. He looked like a little boy who had just been told he couldn't have a puppy. "She'll only be here a few hours," she said as she watched his face closely. "After she leaves… we'll see."

He grinned at her lasciviously. "I'll make it worth your while."

"You bet you will," she answered suggestively and then slyly dropped her hand down and squeezed his behind then quickly walked into the house.

Richard jumped and laughed loudly. In the distance the Jeep turned off of the long private drive and onto the highway out of sight.

-/-/-/-/-/- The end -/-/-/-/-/-

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**Notes:** Thank you to everyone who has reviewed the story. I love reading your thoughts and comments. You really made posting my first multi-chapter story a positive experience. 

Thanks to those who posted reviews since the last update: RiskaSG, Emily-RichardFan, Miss GoodManners, glo1196, pjt-gg, LorLukealways, gilmorefanforever, DiehardJavaJunkie14, gilmoregirlsalwaysforever, Apple705.


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